Edenbridge locals fear housing development will hurt town

KentOnline / KMTV

The area's natural floodplain and wildlife are also reasons that some residents' groups are against the 340 homes becoming 450.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

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00:00For locals in Edenbridge, the Four Elms housing development has been a controversial topic since

00:04it was announced, with Sevenoaks Council making a local plan until 2040 while also talking with

00:10concerned locals. The small countryside town was originally earmarked for 340 homes to be

00:15built and lived in, but recently a proposal to increase this to 450 was published.

00:21Many are concerned about the impact it could have on their town and its health,

00:25as well as how it could affect the Greenbelt's wildlife population.

00:28The Four Elms site is also located near a floodplain,

00:31an area of low-lying ground near the River Eden that's particularly vulnerable to flooding.

00:35Basically, one of the factors as well as the obvious one about building on a floodplain,

00:43which is obviously rash in an era of climate change when we know we're going to get more

00:49flooding, we know we're going to have drought and then flood, so that in itself is ludicrous,

00:55frankly. But related to that are the infrastructure issues which simply aren't there

01:01to support that sort of development.

01:04The town's utilities that locals worry could be hit hardest includes their sewage network,

01:08with some worrying that with more people using the utility,

01:11the River Eden could see more discharges alongside potential flooding.

01:15NEDRA, the New Edenbridge District Residents Association, also suggested that the water

01:20services, public transport and electrical infrastructure wouldn't be able to cope

01:23with the increase in population without significant investment.

01:27There are also substantial concerns over ecological impact, including nearly a 40%

01:31net loss in habitats for multiple different species of bat, birds and other animals.

01:36You know, when I first moved here, I could walk down the River Eden and see

01:39kingfishers quite regularly. I don't see those any longer.

01:43And so we are killing the habitats that support those sort of, you know, those environments,

01:49we've got a number of protected species and priority habitats here,

01:55and unfortunately they are under threat from this development.

01:59A spokeswoman for ProVision, the development consultant involved with the application,

02:03said,

02:04New built development is sited in the areas with the lowest probability of flooding,

02:07and the on-site drainage strategy has been designed with an allowance for climate change.

02:12An ecological enhancement plan is also included to increase habitat and foraging opportunities.

02:17The development does promise potential for a secondary school, but locals are making

02:20sure the council understand their concerns with the plan ahead of further application meetings.

02:25Finn McDermott for KMTV in Edenbridge.

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