New housing approved on two sites will add 160 homes to an “overdeveloped” village which is earmarked to take hundreds more.

Plans were agreed by councillors at Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) for the 105-home estate and a further 55 dwellings in Sellindge.

But residents say ongoing development plans - which have seen 250 built already in recent years - and proposals for another 253 in the pipeline risk “complete overdevelopment”.

If the other plans awaiting decision are approved, it would bring the total number of new homes for Sellindge - built, proposed or approved combined - to 663 in the past decade.

FHDC’s planning committee approved the latest proposals by Gladman for 105 homes on land adjoining Potten Farm and 55 dwellings on land to the south of Ashford Road at the same meeting last Tuesday.

Sellindge is almost four miles from Ashford but those living there feel it is in danger of being swamped and “turning into a suburb” of the town.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has already constructed 250 homes opposite the village's Co-op store, sparking worries among residents that it will be unable to cope with any additional properties.

But now, the two Gladman applications totalling 160 new homes have been given the green light.

The developer’s plan includes a new public open space, including a children’s play area, seating areas, woodland planting, wildlife ponds and recreational routes.

Within the application for the land adjoining Potten Farm, Gladman says its proposals have been prepared in a “comprehensive manner” and will be set within an “attractive network of well-landscaped green spaces”.

But the chairman of Sellindge Parish Council, Steven Parish, says he is “disappointed” with the decision to approve the plans.

He told KentOnline: “We will look to make further representations to the FHDC planning team during the ongoing planning process to protect the interests of Sellindge and local residents.

“We want to achieve the best possible outcome for them.

“Sellindge has been overrun with development in the last 10 years. The general feeling is that the village is becoming overdeveloped.

“We are concerned that Sellindge does not have the facilities to cope with this influx of people.”

Gladman’s 55-home development will offer a range of dwelling types, sizes and tenures to meet the housing needs of the area, according to planning documents

It will also include up to 22% affordable housing, developers have promised.

But Clifford Styles, who has lived along the A20 in Sellindge for the past decade, says the last two years have already been "absolute hell".

“I moved here because it was a very peaceful and quiet village," the 68-year-old said previously.

"My bungalow along the A20 is opposite the Taylor Wimpey properties. They are three storeys and a complete invasion of privacy. I have to keep the blinds closed now.

"The traffic level along the A20 has increased massively. With the further houses, it's going to be even worse. It's unfair on the residents."

Elsewhere in the village, Quinn Homes is behind plans for 105 homes and “state-of-art” GP surgery at Elmtree Farm, which was hit by a huge fire earlier this year.

The company is already building properties at its 148-home Grove Park site on the southern side of the village, near Grove Bridge.

Both Quinn schemes are awaiting a decision on them from FHDC.

Developer Max Tillings also lodged plans for 32 new homes and a medical centre on the former piggery site in Main Road, Sellindge last year.

However, planning officers rejected that scheme in February.

Planning chiefs labelled it “unsustainable, visually dominant” and “out of character”.

Mr Tillings branded the decision “bang out of order” adding he felt there had been “no attention paid to this application at all, they've just completely dismissed it”.

Gladman has been approached for a comment by KentOnline.