Belvidere House

Welcome to the online consultation portal for Vita Group’s proposals for Belvidere House.

Vita Group is an award-winning independent property developer committed to delivering homes that are sensitive and fit into the local character and community of East Malling.

Please look through this consultation website to learn more about the proposals we are bringing forward, we welcome and encourage your feedback on the proposals. Your feedback is vital to shaping the proposal

We know that the residents of East Malling are being asked to accept more housing as a result of the Government’s new housing targets, and we appreciate that this brings along many concerns and questions about how this can be delivered while preserving the character and community of East Malling.

As an independent house builder, the Vita Group believe wholeheartedly in building communities that co-exist and complements the areas we build in. We have the freedom to deliver truly bespoke developments that are designed with the best craftsmanship and attention to detail. Vita Group are not the off-the-shelf housebuilders you may know, but a dedicated company that wishes to build and grow local communities enabling them to go from strength to strength.

You can find out more about the Vita Group here: www.vita-group.co.uk

What are our proposals

The Vita Group are proposing an outline planning application for land to the east of Wateringbury Road to deliver new homes. The site is located to the south of East Malling village and around 700m from East Malling Railway Station.

Our proposals are still in a very early stage, and we are engaging in a pre-application process with Tonbridge and Malling District Council. At this stage we also wanted to engage with the local community as we know that this area is being asked to take more housing. We are also aware of recent applications that the local community have raised concerns with.

Vita Group want to hear from you about what is being proposed, how homes here could work for the local community and the concerns you have to be taken into consideration in our work moving forward.

We encourage you to give us feedback.

The site incorporates the residential garden surrounding Belvidere House.

Through careful design and respect of the local topography, Vita Group believes that we can build 60 new homes here at Belvidere House, which will go a long way to deliver housing for the local community’s needs. 24 or 40% of these new homes will be affordable homes in line with Tonbridge and Malling’s Affordable Housing policy commitments.

We will also be retaining and enhancing the existing hedgerows and tree lines throughout and surrounding the site. Maintaining this green infrastructure is essential to protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of this site as well mitigating visual impact of the new homes.

As part of this proposal, we will be preserving key area of the site as open green space, providing dedicated areas for new residents to have spaces to walk and enjoy close to their homes.

Both vehicle and pedestrian access will be from Wateringbury Road with a relocated and upgraded access point creating a formal priority junction, which will provide mitigation of any new vehicle movements onto nearby roads. As a further part of the proposal, Vita Group will be delivering off-site Highways works as well.

Our plans have been designed with care and with the intention to bring as little disruption to the local community as possible.

Delivering real biodiversity improvements

Ensuring that any development does not negatively impact the local biodiversity is a commitment that Vita Group takes incredibly seriously. We know that when you build on land that has been green space means that there will be change, but through detailed planning and other works it is possible to protect and enhance biodiversity.

Green Infrastructure throughout the site will be key to delivering biodiversity net gain. The proposals we are putting forward include approximately 1.9 hectares of open space equating to around 33% of the site being dedicated to newly landscaped open areas. This will also include the retention and preservation of key wildlife corridors throughout the site.

In addition to the retention of existing greenery Vita Group will incorporate areas for ecological conservation, mitigation and enhancement, such as retained grassland in the southern part of the site and a new attenuation pond. Together these new features combined with the existing green infrastructure will create a valuable and biodiverse environment for the Wateringbury Road, for both residents and future residents.

The landscaping strategy for this proposal will aim to create an attractive setting for the development, as well promoting an environment that is attractive to local wildlife and biodiverse plants, tree and other types of greenery.

We’re keen to understand your thoughts on delivering gains to biodiversity, please take a look at our short survey to let us know.

Key landscape objectives:

Retain existing landscape features and enhance them with new native tree and plant species. Green corridors will maintain vital wildlife connections, while boosting habitat and biodiversity value within the Site and the wider offering opportunities for informal recreation.
Introduce street trees within green verges along the primary route through the development to establish a verdant, attractive streetscape and soften the built form.
Enhance the Site’s southern boundary with new tree and hedgerow planting to further enclose the development and create a visual buffer between existing neighbouring properties and the new homes.
Reinforce the rural character of Wateringbury Road through dense tree planting and landscaping along the Site’s frontage, reinstating a green edge alongside the proposed access point.
Design a new attenuation basin not only for sustainable drainage, but also to maximize its ecological value and serve as an attractive landscape feature.
Retain and enhance existing grassland in the eastern and central parts of the Site, contributing positively to the overall ecological value.

Access and Highways

Vita Group are proposing a relocated and upgraded access from Wateringbury Road, which will serve all new homes. This will provide access for vehicles and pedestrians, as well promoting active travel connections to Wateringbury Road.

The current access is to be relocated along Wateringbury Road and improved to ensure that it is in line with Highways policies set by Kent County Council and can suitably provide entry and access for vehicles. The current access to the site, is a gated entrance on Wateringbury Road that would not be suitable for this development. This will create a formal priority junction.

Vita Group is committed to delivering the highways infrastructure needed for the local community as well and accept that with new homes comes more vehicle movements on local roads. As part of the planning permission, we are seeking Vita Group are committing to delivering off-site highways works as well.

What do you think is needed locally for Highways improvements? Please fill out this short survey.

Designed to fit in with the local area

Vita Group’s vision for the design of our proposals are being guided by the existing local community of East Malling. As a developer we want to ensure that the homes built here suit the local area’s character and are guided by the types of homes and buildings that already exist, and as a housebuilder of unique and bespoke homes we are well placed to ensure that the final results will complement East Malling.

Our vision has been guided by a number of key principles:

Respect of the setting of East Malling and the local community, including the East Malling conservation area and nearby heritage assets.
A scale of development that responds sensitively to the local area, providing a gradual transition to neighbouring agricultural land and existing residential properties.
Celebration of the area’s landscape character through retaining and enhancing vegetation and greenery to create a cohesive and green environment.
Creation of a distinctive neighbourhood with architectural design inspired by the local character of buildings, which will aid in fostering a strong sense of place and identity.
Promote the historic character of the landscape and support community wellbeing.
Establish new homes within a well-connected green infrastructure network that support ecological enhancements and offers attractive and accessible open spaces.

While the specific detailed design of each house would be determined at a later stage, the application that Vita Group are submitting is for 60 new homes. These new homes would be a mixed tenure of sizes and house types to meet a broad spectrum of local housing needs.

Vita Group are also providing 40% affordable homes, which will be 24 of the 60 new homes. Affordable homes are much needed to enable key workers, young people and new families to get onto the property ladder, as well as providing social rented housing to provide accommodation for the most in need in the local area. All affordable homes will be fully integrated within the scheme’s design to ensure they are pepper-potted throughout.

All buildings on this site will between two and three storeys in height, and all will be houses. The design ensures very little changes to the visual impact of the area.

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Fitting into the locality of Wateringbury Road is vitally important for the design of the homes we want to build. Homes in prominent visual locations within the development have been specifically located to enhance the overall character of the new development.