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Campaigners lose bid to halt housing developments

SIMON FINLAY / LDRS a "Say No" sign on a gate into a field SIMON FINLAY / LDRS
Attempts by campaigners to stop the developments were unsuccessful

Campaigners have lost their bid to stop two housing developments of 7,000 homes from going ahead near Maidstone.

They had opposed plans to build 5,000 homes on Lenham Heath and 2,000 in Lidsing, arguing that the developments were in the wrong places and lacked the necessary access and infrastructure.

One of the campaigners, councillor and local resident Vanessa Jones, said residents were "devastated" and "gobsmacked" by the news.

Maidstone Council said it would be holding stakeholder steering groups in November to seek feedback on the plans as they developed.

Local Democracy Reporting Service Vanessa Jones stands looking across a field, looking concerned, and with her arms folded in this black and white photo. She is wearing a dark coloured top and jacket. Shrubs and trees can be seen in the distance.Local Democracy Reporting Service
Councillor and local resident Vanessa Jones said the news had left residents "gobsmacked"

Vanessa Jones said: "It will be so upsetting to watch everything in my life that I have loved completely obliterated."

She added that her role as a borough councillor would be "to get as many mitigating measures as possible".

Separate attempts by campaigners to get High Court judicial reviews on both were unsuccessful, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The scheme was adopted into the Local Plan by the formerly Tory-led council, alongside the Government's housing and regeneration agency, Homes England.

Newly-appointed Maidstone Borough Council leader Stuart Jeffery had opposed both developments but said he was now resigned to “making the best of it”.

Local Democracy Reporting Service Councillor John Britt stands in front of Lenham Community Centre, wearing a burgundy jumper and beige trousers. He has grey hair and a beard and wears glasses and is standing with his hands in his pockets.Local Democracy Reporting Service
Councillor John Britt has campaigned against the plans

Green and Independent Alliance councillor Stuart Jeffery said it was not "our Local Plan and we were not happy with it but we’re stuck with it".

"The choice is that we engage and ensure the developments are sustainable or we withdraw and let the developers have a free run," he added.

Councillor John Britt, chair of Lenham Parish Council, said he vowed to carry on holding Maidstone Council to account despite being left "exhausted" by the six-year battle.

Britt said Jeffery’s pledge to “make the best of it” was disappointing.

Former Maidstone Council leader David Burton said government housing targets meant that homes “have to be built somewhere” and the process for these plans was "transparent".

“I think we have to face up to the fact that we need the housing," he added.

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