Residents are holding a last-ditch attempt to challenge thousands of homes planned for their area claiming the allocation is over development and based on inaccurate figures.

Inspectors are reviewing the Thanet Local Plan this week in the first of a series of public hearings ending in May.

But people in Westgate-on-Sea believe the 2,000 houses allocated for the town in the draft plan by Thanet District Council is far too much for the area to cope with.

It is the last chance for the town council and residents to make calls to reduce the numbers of housing after doubling from an earlier plan.

Councillors say the additional 1,000 homes - added to the town after delays to develop housing at Manston Airport due to the bid to reopen the site as a cargo airport - need to be reallocated.

The town council is fighting for the extra houses to be added back to the Manston redevelopment should River Oak's development consent order bid be rejected by the Planning Inspectorate later this year.

Cllr Dr Hannah Scott, who will represent the town's Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, says residents are "vehemently against" the further allocation of housing being placed on Westgate and built on agricultural land around the town.

She added: "While Westgate-on-Sea Town Council believes that some houses should be built, 1,000 is too many for the area and 2,000 is complete over-development of the town.

"It also believes that the planned 17,100 houses allocated to be built in Thanet by 2031 is massive over development and is based on inaccurate population projections.

"It is complete destruction of agricultural land across Thanet which should be used for growing food at a time when our climate is unpredictable and food security is under threat."

Cllr Scott says residents are also concerned about infrastructure placing extra strain on the area with a lack of buses and trains, school places and vacancies at doctors and dentists.

The independent examination of the Thanet Local Plan by the Planning Inspectorate launches tomorrow with the opening hearing at St Augustine's House in Westgate-on-Sea at 10am.

Three hearings will take place between Tuesday and Thursday with topics including flood risk strategy, housing requirement assessment, location of housing including rural development and distribution and affordable housing.

The following week - from April 9 - four more days of hearings will happen covering specific strategic sites at Manston Green, Birchington, Westwood, Westgate-on-Sea and Manston Court at Haine Road.

The council submitted its plan in October and the hearings are part of the process for it to come up with its housing blueprint for the next 12 years - until 2031.

But the government has stepped in to make sure Thanet's plan is brought in as soon as possible.

James Brokenshire, the secretary of state for communities and housing, expressed his concerns at 'persistent failures' by TDC to deliver the homes the district requires with the council eight years behind on its planning policy.

He told the council to get on with developing the Local Plan, writing to council leader Bob Bayford in February, and threatened the government could take over the entire process itself.

Meanwhile, villagers are also planning to prepare for future housing and development in Birchington.

The Birchington Neighbourhood Planning Group is calling for residents to join in with coming up with its own plan and wishlists for what it would like to see and restrictions it would reject in the planning process.

Members are hosting a community development day from midday to 6pm at the All Saints Church Hall in Birchington on June 6.

More information is available via the Birchington Parish Council website.

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