insideKENT Magazine Issue 25 - April 2014 | Page 154

PROPERTY Kent housing development is shining example of planning in partnership A project to build new homes on the site of a burnt-out pub in the conservation area of a Kent village has been highlighted nationally as a shining example of how developers, planners and residents can work together. Maidstone-based Wealden Homes built three terraced houses on the derelict site of the former Wheatsheaf pub in Kemsing, near Sevenoaks, after detailed consultations with Sevenoaks District Council and Kemsing Parish Council, who liaised with nearby residents. All three houses were released last year, and all are now sold. Following the success of the scheme, it was chosen as a case study for a Local Government Association (LGA) publication showcasing partnership approaches to positive planning. Planning Positively Through Partnership was launched jointly by the LGA, the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF) and the British Property Foundation (BPF). W ealden Homes’ Land and Planning director, Graham Norton, said the Kemsing site