“Reckless” plans to build 95 homes on the “best” agricultural land have been thrown out amid a barrage of objections.

Sunningdale House Developments launched its latest bid on land behind existing homes in Monkton Road, Minster.

But more than 140 objections were lodged to Thanet District Council (TDC), with one parish council branding the move a “little short of reckless”.

Sunningdale claimed the homes - which would have ranged from one-bed flats to five-bed houses - would be "an attractive, sustainable development that makes a positive contribution to the character of the village".

The firm also pledged to "ensure a diverse and visually interesting street scene" that will be "of high quality" in papers submitted to the local authority.

But TDC scrapped the bid last week in a detailed 10-point refusal letter, which stressed the developer had not considered the “irreversible loss of best and most versatile agricultural land”.

“The proposal, by virtue of its location, form and scale, would result in the loss of countryside and harm to the characteristics of the Wantsum North Slopes Landscape Character Area,” it continued.

The notice said the authority recognises housing would have short-term benefits to the local economy during construction and longer term economic benefits as a result of increased spending.

It also says there would be increased support for existing services and facilities in Minster.

But the authority stressed it is “extremely disappointing” documents submitted by the developers do not refer to agricultural land or its loss.

“The site is not allocated for residential use through the Local Plan and the agricultural land is shown to be of the highest grade of best and most versatile,” a planning officer wrote.

“No attempt has been made to identify other sites in the district that are lower grade agricultural land and the reasons that they have been discounted.”

The planning officer also says the expansion of the village onto farmland would “inevitably involve a change to the character of the countryside”.

It also says it would result in the loss of more than four hectares - about the size of seven football fields - of the “best and most versatile agricultural land”.

“It is considered that insufficient information has been submitted in relation to highway matters, archaeology, refuse and recycling collection and ecology to enable a full assessment to be carried out to ensure that the proposal would not have adverse impacts,” it added.

The project would have been the fourth major housing development in the village in less than 15 years.

The firm says: "An open area of green space runs through the heart of the development, providing visual and physical connectivity through the site to the open fields beyond.

"The development provides an appropriate mixture of dwelling type and size that responds to the housing need of the local area and village location."

Dozens of residents objected to the plans earlier this year, with concerns related to flooding, traffic and additional strain on village services such as the school and GP.

Monkton Parish Council said: “The legacy we are currently creating is deplorable.

“So many examples of local development are little short of reckless, resulting in permanent loss of open countryside and arable land, compromising future food security and biodiversity, while at the same time imposing unsustainable pressure on services and infrastructure.

“This application is yet another such example.”

Minster Parish Council says the application has been “submitted in haste”.

“The application has been submitted prior to sufficient detailed information and further surveys being undertaken on the land,” it said.

The 100-dwelling Heronsbrook development on land at Molineux, Thorne and Monkton Road was completed in 2010, a year after some of the wooden-framed luxury homes went up in flames.

More recently, plans for 36 houses in Monkton Road, next to the Heronsbrook site, were approved in 2019 and are believed to be near completion.

Opponents of the scheme have also referred to the Tothill Street development in Minster, which saw 214 homes rubber-stamped by the council in 2019.

However, plans for a 115-strong site north of Foxborough Lane, just minutes away from Monkton Road, was rejected by authorities last summer.

Leisa Emery submitted her objections to the new Monkton Road development as she lamented the loss of a "desirable place to live".

"Another beautiful open space, with a public right of way through the middle, where fellow villagers walk every day and crops are grown, disappearing under more concrete, for some faceless housing developer to fatten their wallet.

"What was once a desirable place to live has become intolerable. The Thanet villages and countryside will be no more.

"They will be over-developed towns, with no infrastructure, no one able to get a doctors appointment ever again, and villagers unable to sell up as no one will want to live here."

Gary Card took aim at the developers, who are currently building the previously mentioned 36-house development on the road, branding them "fat cats".

He said: "The builders are going to be Sunningdale, who at the moment are building 36 houses which has been ongoing for four years and is still ongoing.

"If it is taking four-plus years to build 36 houses, how long, and how much chaos and anguish, is it going to cause to build 95?

"Do not build any more housing estates. Think of the people who live here and not the fat cats that line their pockets."

Other concerns with the plans are said to be flooding, traffic and additional strain on village services such as the school and GP.