PROW NEWS – AUGUST UPDATES
- “Temporary” closure of Ash footpath EE42 by the Plucks Gutter Bridge extended yet again
The 50 yards or so of path immediately east of Plucks Gutter bridge over the Stour has been “temporarily” closed since late 2017, due to the jetty which people walk across being structurally unsafe. No progress seems to have been made on this, so closure has been extended yet again – until June 2027 (!). The only good news is that an alternative route via footpath EE83, with little extra walking, is very close at hand and signed as such.
- Wingham & Goodnestone parishes – new routes EE496 and EE497 have been approved as byways
The Planning Inspectorate has finally ruled in favour of Hugh Craddock’s original claims, rejecting the bridleway option. The new routes have already been created by subsequent KCC order, and are:
EE496 – a 250 yard byway open to all (including motorised) traffic, from the Staple to Wingham road at GR 262 568 south to Little Twitham Farm, and EE497 – a half-mile restricted (no motor vehicles) byway from Little Twitham Farm south to the end-on junction of existing restricted byway EE269A and bridleway EE28 at GR 263 559.
- Updated edition of the OS Explorer Map (scale 1:25,000) for the Dover, Folkestone & Hythe areas (sheet 138)
A new edition has just been published, showing all the recent developments, and in particular PROW information has been updated to 1 August 2024. Amazingly, I find that in the 7 years since the last edition, something like 50 PROW have been subject to major or minor change. I obtained my new map via the Ordnance Survey online shop, as I don’t think they are in the shops quite yet. If buying, beware, as the cover photo is unchanged from 2017. So check inside to see that it’s “Revised August 2024”.
Incidentally, I have checked the map’s new PROW detail and found only one error – regarding Ripple/Ringwould restricted byway EE492:
The then footpath EE446A was upgraded to restricted byway status in 2021. It left Ripple Road at TR 359 491 and headed SW but finished at the Ripple/Ringwould parish boundary. So a crucial element of the same order was to create a new restricted byway from the parish boundary SW as far as Ringwould Road at TR 356 487. The new map shows neither the restricted byway status, nor the new PROW section.
Development proposals affecting PROW:
- Approved luxury hotel at Betteshanger Park will not be built?
News came through in mid-July that construction of the £30 million 120 bed hotel planned for the Country Park site, and approved by Dover DC, will now not take place. In a low-key announcement, it appeared that the various delays in getting this controversial proposal approved had scuppered the development after the contract between a well-known hotel operator and the Park owners expired. Betteshanger bosses are now thought to be considering other holiday accommodation options.
But the company behind the associated plans for a surfing lagoon in the Park, called The Seahive, says it remains committed to its scheme.
- Aldington – Solar farm application by EDF Renewables, originally refused by Ashford BC: appeal rejected by the Planning Inspectorate
Just outside our area, but of interest to many members, some of whom were actively involved in opposing the proposal (Ashford BC planning ref. 22/00668/AS), was to have been the East Stour Solar Farm. This would have covered some 255 acres north-east of the main village of Aldington, either side of the railway line and south of the M20, near the Sellindge Converter Station and a small existing solar farm. Following the Appeal Enquiry in February, the Inspector has now come down against the plans, saying amongst other things that they were in effect too damaging to the landscape, and changed the character of too many PROW. More information, including the Inspector’s report, is readily available online.
However, the future of the proposed Stonestreet Green Solar Farm, also in Aldington, has not yet been decided, as the necessary Development Consent Order process is still some way from reaching the Secretary of State’s decision, due to be published later this year. This would be much bigger, at some 450 acres, mostly (but not all) to the north-west of the main village. No doubt the decision on such a large project, when it comes, will make the headlines whatever it is.
As always, if you would like more details about any of the issues mentioned above, or any others for that matter, please contact Roger King on 07779 533 583, or e-mail roger.rambler89@outlook.com
