Isle of Oxney candidate Simon Honnor is already making a difference!
Like most villages in the Ashford countryside, Appledore has had a lot of housing development and people are very concerned about the threat from new proposals. So, I was immediately concerned when villagers came to me for help about a fresh planning application in November 2021. A developer had already built some houses, but some spare patches of land remained. One of these unused plots fronted onto an approach road to the village – a wooded area which framed a beautiful view of our Grade I listed church. The new planning proposal was to remove most of the trees and hedging and turn a country lane into a much more built-up environment – tantamount to ‘urbanization’ in a country village.
I decided to work with the local residents who had asked for help, along with the Parish Council. This work included a petition against the scheme in December ‘21, which was signed by more than 70 people.
As this work proceeded, a further issue arose in June ’22 when an application was made to remove an oak tree, one that must be at least 100 years old. It’s a beautiful example, as noted in the earlier housing scheme paperwork. People living nearby saw this as a further attack on the rural character of the village. Again, I engaged with the Parish Council and the Borough Council, making use of my experience in property and planning. We were very lucky that the Borough Council Trees Officer agreed with us.
After due consideration and plenty of emails, the Borough Council decided to agree to our request for a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) which was issued at the end of June ’22. The TPO covered both the oak tree and also other trees which would have been removed if the extra house had been built. The old oak tree was saved and as a further benefit, the application for the extra house, which would have ruined the view of our church, was withdrawn by the developers.
This achievement was made possible by knowledge of planning law; knowing which people to contact; and by working with local people to help address their concerns. I am glad that people in the village knew that they could ask me for help. I believe that you cannot help local people unless you live in their area and that, in turn, they can trust you to do the best for them.