Manston Parish Council are opposed to the proposed revisions of the local plan and have a number of comments. .

• We are concerned that the statistics that have been used are now out of date.  Thanet is already 4.9% more densely populated than other areas in England and you are proposing that we have an additional 17,000 homes which will add to this.  There are not enough jobs for the people who will live in the houses.
• We are concerned that Farmland is not protected, and we need this as a source of food and income.
• We would propose the infrastructure is completed before the houses.   People will not want to buy houses if they can’t get to and from them easily.  Thanet’s greatest asset is the seaside and it will be jammed up.  Thanet’s current roads are in really bad condition and they cannot cope with an increased  volume of traffic.
• NHS services and GP services are already stretched to the limit and we cannot cope with another 17,000 residents using these services.   
• Water drainage is an issue and flooding is a problem which does not appear to have been considered. 
• We are concerned that the water supply to all the new properties will be an issue, can it cope with the number of houses.
• Electricity supply is also an issue. We in Manston experience power cuts a lot and we expect this to only get worse with the number of houses.
• Empty homes across Thanet should be looked at and used to fulfil the housing need, not build new ones.
• We have also been advised that these changes have not been advertised to those people who are affected the most.  Elderly residents and people who do not have access to internet have not excluded from these revisions.   We also know that there have been a number of issues with the TDC website.

   

  We would like to be kept up to date of any further revisions and consultation events from TDC.