A zoo owner looking to offload land for new homes in order to keep his business afloat says he’s faced “personal attacks” because of it ahead of a crunch decision on the plans.

Land owned by the Fenn Bell Conservation Project on the Hoo Peninsula is the subject of a controversial planning application by Esquire Developments Ltd for 44 new homes.

The application has received 65 letters of objection, raising issues such as overdevelopment, the new homes being out of keeping with the current area, and the loss of farmland.

But Medway Council’s planning department has recommended the application for approval with conditions when it comes before councillors for a decision next week.

These include the developer providing nearly £600,000 in contributions to local infrastructure, such as health facilities, mobile libraries, bus services, and schools.

Additionally, there is a condition that before development can proceed, plans for drainage systems need to be approved by the council at a later date.

The owner of the zoo, Andrew Cowell, has said he needs to sell the land to keep his business going.

He said: “The zoo has taken an awful big hit with the pandemic and the cost of living, and we really need to be able to balance our books and move forward.

“I do appreciate that there are many pieces of land on the Hoo Peninsula and over Medway that are sold, and many people get very rich through selling land for houses - we're not doing that here.“

The Fenn Bell, which sits off the Ratcliffe Highway in St Mary Hoo, became the first animal park to be given the title of a licensed zoo in Medway in 2017.

It is home to exotic animals including meerkats, toucans, barn owls and bobcats, of which many have been rescued and came via other wildlife parks.

Mr Cowell, who founded the park in 2015, says changes are now needed, including adding a new multi-purpose vet building and other top-of-the-range facilities.

“We need to invest into new buildings here, into our cesspits, and into solar panels to drive our electrical bill down,“ he explained.

He added: “We're selling a piece of land so that we can invest into our business.

“I sat with the people who live locally and explained to them the reasons why I was doing that.”

But since first announcing the plans earlier this year the zoo boss says himself and the business have come in for criticism, some of which is “very personal”.

“They have not objected about houses, they have made it a personal attack on us as a zoo. And that makes me very angry,” he adds.

“It's all there on Facebook and the nasty comments. It’s very frustrating when you see things said about you that are absolutely not true and are slanderous.

“I absolutely believe that anybody in my position would be doing the absolute same thing as I'm doing to ultimately secure their business and the jobs of the 20 people that work here.”

In February, when the application was submitted, St Mary Hoo Parish Council held a special meeting to discuss how to respond where locals voted to oppose the development.

Around 100 people attended to raise their concerns about the additional pressures the new homes would place on the area, as many said they already had trouble getting their children into local schools because they were over-subscribed.

Esquire Developments Ltd were due to attend to make a presentation but cancelled an hour beforehand.

The parish council also wrote in to object to the plans, particularly highlighting the risk of flooding to the new properties and those downstream, a problem which existing homes and businesses in the area have suffered from in the recent past.

It said the land which the houses would add greater pressure to the drainage of the area, with more impermeable surfaces and so more run-off, and new discharge from the new houses - when it already cannot cope with the amount of water.

The Lower Medway Internal Drainage Board initially wrote in objection to the plans, but following subsequent evidence retracted this as it believes the proposed drainage strategy, including storage systems for excess run-off, a pond and permeable paving, is appropriate.

Cllr Nick Craddy, of St Mary Hoo Parish Council, said he understood Mr Cowell’s business position but locals were more concerned for their community.

“I do understand their viewpoint to a certain extent but what has irked an awful lot of people is that these projects are being pushed as enhancing a community asset,” he said.

“Well, I can tell you, St Mary Hoo community does not consider Fenn Bell Zoo to be a community asset. It’s a community nuisance.”

He claimed the venture had brought lots and lots of people who “chuck their litter out car windows”, discard their “dirty nappies” in the car park, and “who contribute nothing at all to our community”.

“All they contribute to is Andy’s coffers over in the zoo,” he added.

“I know Andy’s very passionate about his zoo, but we're quite passionate about our neighbourhood too.

“In St Mary Hoo, presently, there are 90 homes, so with these 44, you've just more than doubled the size of the parish in one go - you’re destroying the character of what is effectively a hamlet.”

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Despite these misgivings, Cllr Craddy acknowledged the need for housing.

“We completely agree that there is a need for new homes,” he added. “As a parish council, we'd rather see much smaller homes started than big, sort of, four-bed executive ones.”

The parish council is arranging a bus to transport residents to the planning committee next week to demonstrate how they feel.

He continued: “We're not going to make a big fuss. We're just going to be very peaceful.

“We're just going to be lots of bums on seats, looking at the councillors, saying: ‘We are the guys who elect you. We don't want this’.”

The application will be considered by councillors at the Medway Council planning committee meeting on September 25 where they will make the final decision.