The proposed Bradbourne development is designed to create a sustainable community – comprising new public facilities including small retail outlets to serve local residents and a primary school within a village centre – through a landscape-focused masterplan-led approach which incorporates new infrastructure.
The proposals will creating a sustainable community and deliver a range of benefits.
Within walking distance of two mainline railways stations, Bradbourne will deliver a new community which contributes to the wider social fabric and economic wellbeing of the area, served by new facilities, pedestrian, cycle and sustainable transport and movement links.
The proposals respond to the setting, topography and retained public footpath network creating a residential development that connects into and is influenced by its surroundings.
Creating a well-structured network of green corridors that join East Malling village in the west, Larkfield to the north and Allington to the east, the proposals prioritise pedestrian and bicycle movement and ensure connections are appropriately lit. The aim is to also strengthen connections to existing rail services.
Adopting a landscape-led approach, the designs include prioritising green links and open spaces, maintaining existing public rights of way, and enhancing ecological features to create opportunities for new habitats. There will be community play areas, informal open spaces and sustainable drainage features.
The site is very well screened through existing trees and hedgerows, and additional new trees and hedge planting will mean views of the proposed scheme would be limited from the surrounding area.
New homes, including affordable homes, will be designed to serve the needs of local people. Areas of open space would support people to enjoy and socialise in their new community with good access to local facilities, making this proposal a place residents will be proud to call their home.More than two hectares (five acres) of the site will be dedicated to a two-form primary school just a few minutes’ walk from the local centre, helping families to truly be a part of their community.
The council’s ambition is that major developments will, where practicable and proportionate, provide opportunities for habitat creation and where possible maximise opportunities to deliver at least 10% biodiversity net gain on site. These proposals aim to help achieve that ambition.
A total of 29 hectares of the site will be publicly accessible open space, woodland and areas to support improvements to the area’s biodiversity. A new 2.5-hectare (six acre) community park with a range of play and recreation facilities will be at the heart of the scheme. It will be linked with other open spaces via a series of connecting footpaths and greenways.
Existing woodlands within and near the site will be retained and buffer areas around them would ensure development is kept away from them. A network of preserved and new trees will form green corridors.
These proposals would continue to underpin the reinvestment programme into new facilities on the campus, transforming it into a modern research facility. This enables the continuation of the research carried out by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
The site is within easy walking distance of Barming railway station and its connections with London, Maidstone and Ashford. The proposals will also provide a dedicated bus, walking and cycle link connecting Kiln Barn Road and Hermitage Lane with an onward sustainable transport link to East Malling.