'Pump Lane Orchards in Rainham Saved'- say the Liberal Democrats

We are delighted to see that the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed AC Goatham's planning appeal for a development to be built on apple orchards in Rainham.

The development of over new 1200 houses would have destroyed precious orchards that are hundreds of years old, whilst also overloaded the already strained infrastructure of lower Rainham. That is why Medway Liberal Democrats have been against the development from the start (PUMP LANE, RAINHAM DEVELOPMENT - AN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT (Medway Lib Dems).

Stuart Bourne, a spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats says 'This is truly amazing news and a victory for the people of Rainham. Those orchards are a precious source of habitat for our wildlife , a source of apples for our tables, and source of beauty for our souls. Destroying them would have been destroying a part of ourselves. I would like to personally thank the hard working team behind the Against the Development of the Orchard campaign. These are wonderful community champions that have volunteered their time to help our town.'

The Medway Liberal Democrats note that reason why these orchards were at risk was because of the lack of a local plan for Medway. The fact that it's now still been 10 years without one has allowed uncaring developers like AC Goatham to swoop in and stick houses where they want them. And as long as this Conservative administration continues to argue with itself of where to put houses in Medway, our precious orchards in Rainham will continue to be at risk.

ENDS