Maidstone Greens and the independents in our group led the fight against the Conservatives’ Local Plan at the extraordinary Council meeting in Maidstone last night. The Greens proposed deferring the decision until after the election so that the councillors who will be responsible for its implementation would get to vote on it but the amendment was defeated.
Cllr Stuart Jeffery, Green Party and group leader for the Green Independent Alliance on Maidstone Borough Council, said, “Building huge numbers of large unsustainable houses on much needed farmland is fundamentally wrong. There is a paltry amount of funding for infrastructure including roads, schools and railways stations, just 3% of what is needed.
“We learnt at the last minute that the county council is also opposed to the plan.
“There are no supporting strategies, no sustainable transport plan, no town centre plan, no design and sustainability plan and no Gypsy, Roma and Traveller plan. The Conservatives’ Local Plan is a disaster and we hope to lead an urgent review of the plan after the May elections.”
How individual councillors voted:
| Member | Party | Vote |
| Councillor Alan Bartlett | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Mrs Annabelle Blackmore | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Heidi Bryant | Conservative | Absent |
| Councillor David Burton | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Tom Cannon | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Brian Clark | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Maureen Cleator | Labour | Against |
| Councillor Patrick Coates | Independent | For |
| Councillor Richard Conyard | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Gary Cooke | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Paul Cooper | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Martin Cox | Independent | For |
| Councillor Derek Eagle | Green | Against |
| Councillor Clive English | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Stanley Forecast | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Gill Fort | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Patrik Garten | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Fay Gooch | Independent | For |
| Councillor Susan Grigg | Independent | For |
| Councillor Paul Harper | Independent | For |
| Councillor Tony Harwood | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Michelle Hastie | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Bob Hinder | Conservative | Against |
| Councillor Peter Holmes | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Stuart Jeffery | Green | Against |
| Councillor Vanessa Jones | Independent | Against |
| Councillor Mrs Denise Joy | Independent | For |
| Councillor Dinesh Khadka | Liberal Democrat | Absent |
| Councillor Ashleigh Kimmance | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Sandra Knatchbull | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Lewis McKenna | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Derek Mortimer | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Steve Munford | Independent | For |
| Councillor David Naghi | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Gordon Newton | Independent | For |
| Councillor Lottie Parfitt-Reid | Conservative | For |
| Councillor John Perry | Conservative | For |
| Councillor James Reid | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Paddy Riordan | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Mrs Cynthia Robertson | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Margaret Rose | Labour | Against |
| Councillor Martin Round | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Claudine Russell | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Janetta Sams | Independent | Against |
| Councillor Tom Sams | Independent | Against |
| Councillor Denis Spooner | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Mrs Val Springett | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Michael Thompson | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Stephen Thompson | Green | Against |
| Councillor Ziggy Trzebinski | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Simon Webb | Conservative | For |
| Councillor Paul Wilby | Liberal Democrat | Against |
| Councillor Dan Wilkinson | Labour | Against |
| Councillor Joanna Wilkinson | Labour | Against |
| Councillor Thomas Wilkinson | Liberal Democrat | Absent |