Plan approved for 450-home farmland development

Nearly 800 letters were submitted objecting to the 30-hectare site

A plan to build 450 homes on farmland in Kent has been greenlit.

Medway Council agreed outline planning permission for the Gibraltar Farm development on Ham Lane, Hempstead, by eight votes to four.

Councillors discussed concerns about the loss of green space and the impact on infrastructure, particularly through the increase in traffic.

But they ultimately approved the proposal due to the likelihood of a rejection being overturned at appeal, which would force legal costs on the local authority, and its lack of a local plan.

A proportion of the homes will be affordable under conditions attached to the plans

Nearly 800 letters were submitted objecting to the 30-hectare site, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It added the plan included a condition that a quarter of the new houses must be affordable and a nursery would be provided.

Further detail, such as the layout and design of the 450 homes, will have to be approved at a later date.

Gibraltar Farm has long been eyed by developers.

The most recent planning application was rejected in January 2021 on the grounds the connecting walk and cycleway would harm local bat populations.

However, the council now believes the proposed lighting needed for the route through woodland would not cause enough problems for the wildlife to prevent the current development from being approved.