Hundreds of homes might have to be built at Bapchild, Iwade, Tunstall or south of Sittingbourne if Swale council’s housing target has to be increased.

The authority has been defending its intended level of 540 new homes a year at a hearing overseen by a Government planning inspector in to its local plan, a planning blueprint until 2031.

Developers, land owners and planning consultants have been arguing the figure should be higher.

Two large pieces of farmland, one at Chilton Manor Farm off Swanstree Avenue and another off Cryalls Lane and Wises Lane, between Sittingbourne and Borden, could have to be included in the council’s plan, with the latter deemed more suitable for housing.

Several plots around Bapchild could be considered for inclusion, which would see the village nearly treble in size, and Iwade could be in line for another 400 homes and even more if the council’s target increases significantly.

Cllr Monique Bonney (Ind) who spoke for the Five Parishes Opposition Group said Sittingbourne’s position as part of the Thames Gateway had led to an unfair emphasis on building homes there instead of Faversham.

“There’s a very distinctive unease among residents about the split between the policy of the Thames Gateway and the Faversham area,” she added.

“We feel this puts undue pressure on our villages south of Sittingbourne. Developers wish to make the most profit and those villages are some of the most desirable and most profitable.”

On Chilton Manor Farm, Cllr Bonney said the loss of high-quality agricultural land would be completely unacceptable.

She said the cumulative impact on Bapchild of a number of smaller sites, on top of up to 600 homes at Stones Farm, was a concern. And she warned that Tunstall would become a suburb of Sittingbourne.

Planning consultant Mick Drury said 600 homes could be built at Cryalls Lane and Wises Lane, with a new link road from the A2 to Borden Lane, via Adelaide Drive.

He said the owner was a fruit farmer and it was not possible to grow fruit on the land as it could not be sprayed due to nearby homes.

Cllr Roger Truelove, who represents Homewood Ward, said including land off Cryalls Lane should be opposed: “It is high-quality agricultural land and I find the suggestion that it is less important because the current owner would rather sell it for housing rather risible.

“If this comes before us again we should oppose it, but there is enormous pressure from Government to increase house allocations and it is clear that this area is high on the radar.”

Brian Lloyd, of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said it would come as a blow to people living in Iwade if more homes had to be built there, which had already seen “significant development”.

The inspector, Sue Turner, is expected to produce an interim report once the hearings finish next month on the soundness of the council’s plan.

Any new sites allocated for housing will have to go for public consultation.