“Enough is enough.” The words of Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson, who has called for a public inquiry into plans for nearly 10,000 homes in the town.

The Conservative MP has written to the Secretary of State for housing Robert Jenrick asking him to call in plans from Quinn Estates for its Highsted Park Garden Village.

Watch: Residents label Highsted Park plans "ridiculous"

Yet the developer says its scheme is the only one solving long-term infrastructure issues plaguing Swale.

If approved, 9,250 homes would come to the town, including 8,000 on land to the south and east of Sittingbourne, close to the Kent Science Park and a further 1,250 on land to the west of Teynham.

However, Gordon Henderson has stepped in and called for residents to be able to have their say on the “concerning and unacceptable” development, first discussed 17 years ago.

He said: “I believe that my constituency has taken more than its fair share of housing over the past two decades and having another 10,000 homes in a sensitive rural area is unacceptable.

“Holding a public inquiry will allow Swale council, local residents and me the opportunity to put our objections to an independent, and, hopefully unbiased, planning inspector who would be able to make a decision based on the evidence we are able to present about the harm such a major development would have on local communities.

“A public inquiry will also provide the opportunity to point out the negative impact such a large development would have on our already overstretched infrastructure, which has left us with a shortage of secondary school places in Sittingbourne, the highest patient to doctor ratio in the country, and roads that cannot cope with the current level of traffic.”

An application for the farmland near the Kent Science Park was submitted in July, but was finally validated last Tuesday. This means it has been completed correctly, but has not yet been considered.

Plans also propose a new junction onto the M2, a new southern relief road, a northern relief road, four new primary schools, a secondary school, 520 acres of parks and outdoor space, a state-of-the-art sports hub for Sittingbourne FC and new health facilities.

Julien Speed, chairman of Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council, is concerned the plans for West Teynham will lead to the destruction of Kent’s countryside.

He said: “The proposed development would change the rural character of the area forever. Teynham and Bapchild will simply become a suburb of Sittingbourne. It will generate even more traffic along the A2 London Road where we already have major air quality issues.

“This destruction of the rolling Kent countryside simply has to stop. Housing targets are too high and empty office and retail space that could be converted into residential, instead of building on top quality agricultural land and decimating rural communities.

“On the flip side, the Quinn proposal is more professionally presented than the botched ‘Teynham Area of Opportunity’ in the draft Swale Local Plan which threatens a similar number of houses.

“It promises a primary school plus sports and community facilities, whereas Swale council’s Teynham plan promises only congestion and pollution.”

Ben Geering, planning director at Quinn Estates, said: “We understand the concerns of Mr Henderson, this is a significant project looking to solve significant and long-standing problems, such as the completion of the Northern Relief Road and the delivery of a Southern Relief Road, discussed and promised for many years.

“The housing needs of Swale are established, however for too long there has been a lack of investment in infrastructure. Highsted Park is the only proposal on the table that has such wide ranging investment and benefits. Neither Swale Borough Council, in their draft local plan nor others have put forward proposals that solve the longstanding lack of infrastructure, with a single motorway junction serving all of Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

“When assessing this proposal it is important that the ill conceived alternatives being put forward are borne in mind– such as thousands of houses around Faversham and on Sheppey. These proposals are poorly thought through and will look to deliver housing but without the benefits of investment in infrastructure and jobs, leading to more congestion, poorer air quality and failing to deliver the facilities and jobs that the area needs to thrive.”

More details can be found here , with references 21/503906/EIOUT and 21/503914/EIOUT.

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