Chart Sutton Parish Council’s neighbourhood plan, which includes a site allocation for 35 dwellings south of Amber Lane, was before Maidstone’s planning committee on 2 September 2026 as the borough council considered its formal response to the Regulation 16 consultation.
A neighbourhood plan for Chart Sutton that would allocate land for 35 new homes and introduce a range of local planning policies covering design, heritage, landscape and dark skies was considered by Maidstone Borough Council’s Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee on 2 September 2026.
Background to the plan
Chart Sutton Parish Council began preparing the neighbourhood plan after Policy LPRSP8 of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan 2021–2038 set a quantum of growth of 35 residential units within Chart Sutton village, to come forward in the last ten years of the plan period. The parish was designated as a neighbourhood area on 28 November 2024.
The plan has now reached Regulation 16 stage — a formal six-week public consultation on the submission version — running from 10 August to 21 September 2026. Maidstone Borough Council is responsible for facilitating the consultation and is also a statutory consultee in its own right.
What the plan contains
The submission plan covers the period 2025 to 2038 and contains six objectives and 11 land use policies. The central allocation is Policy CS2, which proposes 35 dwellings on land south of Amber Lane, with criteria covering open spaces, community facilities, drainage, access, design and character.
Other policies address sustainable development, design and character, heritage assets — including a list of non-designated assets such as an airman’s grave, milestones, boundary stones and the remains of iron age earthworks along Warmlake Road — landscape and biodiversity, two proposed local green spaces (the village green and Chart Sutton Memorial Playing Field), 15 locally significant views, dark skies lighting controls, and horticultural development.
Legal context
Officers noted that new regulations brought into force on 25 March 2026 under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 replaced the previous basic conditions test for neighbourhood plans. The new test requires that a neighbourhood plan must not result in less housing being provided than would be the case without it. The council’s consultation response was said to reflect this revised test.
Officers also noted that a new National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026, but that plans already at Regulation 15 stage or beyond would continue to be assessed against the previous 2024 NPPF.
Committee’s role
The committee was asked to consider the council’s draft formal response before it was passed to the Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management for sign-off ahead of the consultation deadline of 21 September 2026. Following the close of consultation, all representations will be forwarded to an independent examiner.
The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.
Sources
- Maidstone Borough Council — Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee, 2 September 2026 (agenda and papers)
- Chart Sutton Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 16 Response — report to Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee (Maidstone Borough Council)
- Appendix 1: Maidstone Borough Council formal response to Chart Sutton Neighbourhood Plan Regulation 16 consultation
Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. Illustrative AI-generated image. This is not a photograph of Chart Sutton or any real identifiable location.