Maidstone councillors have crumbled under pressure and reversed their previous decision to refuse planning permission for a road through treasured woodland.

It means 152 trees will now be felled.

Croudace had submitted a "reserved matters" application seeking permission for a road through Bluebell Wood off Hermitage Lane to access its proposed development of 71 homes on land behind it, adjacent to Maidstone Hospital.

Earlier this month, members of the planning committee surprised officers by going against their recommendation and deciding to refuse the application, because all the possible routes would result in either the direct destruction or the deterioration of the ancient woodland. They felt that new Government policy giving added protection to ancient woodland, which had been published since the original grant of outline permission, should be paramount.

The council's head of planning James Bailey immediately advised he was exercising his right to have that decision deferred while legal advice was sought.

The members were asked to consider the matter again last night.

Planning officer Richard Timms said the borough had sought legal advice from counsel which was that because the Secretary of State had already signed off on the grant of outline permission, a refusal to grant access now would be entirely unreasonable and would have no chance of success at appeal, exposing the council to a high risk of an adverse costs award.

The borough's legal officer Cheryl Parks quoted a case of R v Bradford in 1964, which established that it was the outline application that was considered the point at which permission was granted.

Her view was disputed by Angela Poletti of the New Allington Action Group, who said that NAAG had taken its own independent advice which was that revisions to the Government's National Planning Policy Framework should be applied to both outline and detailed applications.

Some councillors were fearful of the costs of losing at appeal.

Cllr Keith Adkinson (Lab) said: "The legal advice has made me change my mind. We have to bear in mind the effect on all the residents of Maidstone. The cost of a lost appeal would be astronomical.

Cllr Steve Munford (Ind) said: "All members want to save the woodland, but we have an application that is half-way through.We can't retrospectively go against it."

Cllr Dennis Spooner (Con) agreed, saying: "We would be on a hiding to nothing."

Cllr John Perry (Con) said: "We'd be fighting a losing battle. It would be the council tax payers of Maidstone who would end up footing the bill."

But Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) said the council should stick with refusal and be prepared to fight the case at appeal.

He said: "There is no case law relevant to this one. I suggest the case law needs to be established."

Cllr Spooner proposed a motion to withdraw the previous decision to refuse permission. His motion was carried by six votes to five, with the committee chairman Clive English (Lib Dem) abstaining.

The voting was:

In favour: Cllr Dennis Spooner, Cllr John Perry, Cllr Matt Burton, Cllr Martin Round, Cllr Keith Adkinson and Cllr Steve Munford.

Against:

Cllr Tony Harwood, Cllr Paul Wilby, Cllr Ashleigh Kimmanz, Cllr Lottie Parfitt-Reid, Cllr Bryan Vizzard.

The committee then had to decide which of two possible routes through the wood should be allowed.

Route 3 was recommended by officers. It was the most direct route but plunged through the core ancient woodland. It was also the route preferred by the developers. It would involve the loss of 34 veteran trees - some hundreds of years old.

Route 2 went through the secondary woodland, missing the ancient woodland, but because it was three times the length, involved felling 152 trees.

A disgruntled Cllr Harwood said either route would see the ancient woodland "trampled, fly-tipped and disrupted to the point of sterility" and he said additional hawthorn bushes should be planted around the road to prevent the invasion of the woodland.

With two councillors abstaining, the remaining members were split five/five between the two routes.

Cllr English used his chairman's casting vote in favour of the longer route, Route 2.

After the meeting, Barbara Woodward, the chairman of the New Allington Action Group, said: "We're shell shocked, really upset. We've spent six years fighting this and the developers have still got their way."