EGERTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

Strategic Objectives

Egerton’s Neighbourhood Plan Strategic Objectives

PROTECT

Protection of the overall quality of rural community life includes protection of:

  • the distinctive rural, agricultural character and landscape of the village that sets it apart from other parishes in the Ashford area, combining Greensand fruit farming in the upper part of the parish with mixed farmlands around Mundy Bois and extensive Wealden pasture for grazing;
  • the views and vistas both down from the village centre over the Kent Weald and up from the outlying settlements towards Egerton;
  • the amenity value of footpaths and bridleways;
  • the conservation area at the heart of the village, its immediate environs and the overall settlement pattern of Egerton positioned at the top of a hill on the Greensand Ridge;
  • the green spaces which enhance the setting and character of the existing built environment throughout the parish;
  • heritage assets such as the church, the significant number and distribution of medieval and later timber frame buildings, Kentish ragstone farm buildings and walls, oast-houses and more modern buildings that have character and prominence such as the village hall;
  • the quality of the physical environment, including trees and deciduous woodland, relics of former orchards, mixed hedgerows and wildlife.

SUSTAIN

Sustainability of village life includes:

  • ensuring that the Parish contains a mix of housing and therefore increasing the provision of housing for young people, families and older residents;
  • providing facilities to support older and disabled people wishing to remain in the community;
  • support for the local services and businesses essential to the maintenance of village life such as the local school and pre-school, the shop, garages, inns;
  • support for the rural economy, including agriculture, local businesses and individuals working from home;
  • maintenance and improvement of facilities to support residents' health and well-being such as the village hall and recreation field.

DEVELOP

Small-scale development and the infrastructure necessary to support it means:

  • affordable, adaptable and smaller homes allowing younger people, older residents and/or families to stay in or return to the parish;
  • energy-efficient, sensitively laid-out development that conforms with the vernacular materials, density and models described in the Parish Design Statement ;
  • small- scale local business premises;
  • provision of essential services such as transport and road maintenance, and of utilities such as water, sewerage, drainage, high-speed broadband.