Residents who are angry at proposals to build 154 new homes in their village are holding a public drop-in session to coordinate plans for their opposition.
Esquire Developments has submitted an application to Gravesham council seeking permission for the development on land south of Downs Road, Istead Rise.
The proposal is in outline form only at the moment, but has already gathered more than 250 objections since it appeared on the council’s planning portal on Monday of last week.
Currently, the developer is only looking for approval on the principle of development and the access route, which is shown as being a new road forged to join Downs Road. To make way for the access, the existing house at No 64 Downs Road will be demolished.
Downs Road is a 30mph limit, and the developer is confident that it will be able to absorb the traffic from the extra development, which Esquire estimates at no more than 70 vehicle movements in the morning during the peak rush period, and 76 movements in the evening rush hour.
The site is outside the limit to built development for Istead Rise and entirely in the Greenbelt, but Esquire argues that since it sits immediately adjacent to Istead Rise Primary School, it is in a highly sustainable position and that the land can be classified as “Greybelt” under the government’s recent revision of planning policy.
The application was submitted in early December, but did not appear on the council’s website until last Monday, giving opponents of the scheme little time to respond. The deadline for objections is January 26.
Nevertheless, there have already been 256 objections registered on the council’s portal.
Julia Dutfield, of Downs Road, said: “Some of the nearby residents who will be affected by this didn’t receive any notification from the council until this week.”
However, people did receive some early warning of the proposal when Esquire launched its own public consultation back in June of last year.
Residents have formed a group called Green NOT Gr££d to oppose both this and other unwelcome applications in Istead Rise, Meopham and Culverstone. Volunteers have been busy pushing out 2,000 leaflets and posters, and posting on Facebook.
The group is holding a drop-in session at Istead Rise Community Centre in Worcester Close tomorrow (Jan 17) from 10am until 2pm. Visitors will be able to learn about the plans and will be given guidance on how to lodge their thoughts with the council.
Local ward councillor Dakota Dibben (Reform UK) will be in attendance.
He said: “I am offering my full support to the Istead Rise residents objecting to the proposed development behind Downs Road, and I will work tirelessly to protect the greenbelt around our community.”
Ms Dutfield, a healthcare professional, said that residents had been “horrified” by the proposal. She added: “It could be the most unpopular proposal in history.”
Among the concerns is that the single point of access is close to the school, which residents fear will create dangers for the school children.
There are also concerns about the lack of infrastructure, such as GP places and capacity at local schools.
Esquire itself recognises that there is currently not the capacity locally for the 45 primary school pupils and 32 secondary school pupils that the development is expected to generate.
To compensate, it says it will contribute to KCC to fund school expansions, including increasing Istead Rise Primary from its current one-form entry to 1.5 form entry.
The site covers either eight hectares or 9.6 hectares, both figures are given in the planning application.
At present, it comprises arable fields belonging to Rose Farm, the rear garden of No 64, and a field currently used for grazing that was previously a piggery.
Esquire argues that there is a vital need for housing, with Gravesham currently only being able to show 2.9-years’ supply of housing land, where the government requires it to have five-years’ supply.
Esquire also says that it will provide 50% of the homes as affordable properties.
The company said it did not wish to comment at this time.
To view the proposals, visit the council website here. Search for application 20251233.
