Plans for care home on Kent village orchard site rejected
Ryan Nicholls, acting as a planning agent for the applicant, stressed to the committee: "The care home will create 40 full-time equivalent jobs. This is over and above the usual economic boost from development."The site earmarked for the development was an apple orchard and about two-thirds of the plot would have been built on under the plans, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service."The traditional orchard on site has been surveyed by a qualified ecologist and found to be in poor condition, having not been used as or managed as an orchard for quite some time," Mr Nicholls said.But residents gave these arguments short shrift, with Borden parish councillor Lee Small stating that "the loss of two-thirds of a traditional orchard cannot be mitigated for".The applicant has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
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