Fury in quaint Kent village as plans to build 28 ‘executive mansions’ are swapped for new scheme for 45 more affordable family homes

• A row has broken out in Lyminge with initial plans doubling amount of homes
• The initial proposals suggested 28 new properties, but that has doubled to 45 

A stunning village tucked away in the Garden of England has been divided by a controversial development which residents say they don’t want and will overload public services.

A row has broken out in Lyminge, near Folkestone, Kent, over a 45-home development which has doubled in size since it was originally proposed in 2022.

Instead of executive homes, the plan is to build more affordable family homes.

The land was originally approved for 28 large homes in 2022 by Folkestone and Hythe District Council – before doubling the number to 45 affordable homes.

The tiny village, which contains two shops, a coffee shop and a local family-run pub has been divided by the plans which were approved on October 3 by the local authority to be built among 200 acres of rolling green Kent hills.

The contested plot backs onto Broad Street House, an adult assisted living facility, and 38-hole Etchingham Golf Club from where it acquired the land.

Retired toy entrepreneur Sheamus Maher, 79, has lived in the leafy village since 1974 and has led the charge against the development.

The land was originally approved for 28 large homes in 2022 by Folkestone and Hythe District Council – before doubling the number to 45 affordable homes

ORIGINAL PLAN: The land was originally approved for 28 large homes

REVISED PLAN: But the plans have now been amended and show there could be 45 family and affordable homes 

Mr Maher has lived in the house he lives in with his two daughters, 13 and 15, since he first came to Lyminge from Clapham, south London nearly 50 years ago.

The vocal critic said: ‘I got involved because they wanted to block one of the only roads around here for six weeks.

‘It was the main Elham Valley Road and despite petitions going around nothing was happening so I got a solicitor involved and everything stopped.

‘I was only able to speak at the public discussion on the development for three minutes – there were a lot of issues. Where did they get three minutes from?

‘I’ve looked and I can’t see where they’ve got it from. And neither of our ward’s councillors were present.

‘I am not a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). It’s a question of reality and infrastructure.

‘If you look at the prices the developer is quoting, they’re way above the average price of a small place around here.

‘The practicalities of life is that this is a commuter area. If you live here, you’ve got to own a car. You’ve got to travel to the supermarkets. To the school. And the average price of a property in nearby Folkestone is £100,000 less.

‘To try and persuade people to live in an expensive area when they can’t afford it is not fair.

The contested plot backs onto Broad Street House, an adult assisted living facility, and 38-hole Etchingham Golf Club from where it acquired the land

The plans which were approved on October 3 by the local authority to be built among 200 acres of rolling green Kent hills

‘The public consultation was a box-ticking exercise so it passes the legal threshold. The whole thing has the smell of something that is not quite right. There were around 60 individual objections on the planning application and these points have not been properly addressed.

Chani Sanger, 30, a mother-of-one who helps run her family’s village pub, spoke passionately in favour of the development at the planning meeting.

She said today/yesterday (FRI): ‘It’s definitely a kind of gatekeeping. One of the comments has been that whether the rent is affordable or not, the people moving in aren’t going to be able to afford the lifestyle and I thought that was just incredibly out-of-touch.

‘I grew up a council house in Folkestone but my family has lived in Lyminge since World War Two.

‘You could get hit by a car at the moment and someone would blame it on Pentland Homes. That’s the way it is in the village.

‘The local pharmacy is going into administrations – surely it’s because it is because it is not getting enough customers. People aren’t using it enough.

‘They all want to preach that you’re ruining the vibe of the village – there is no vibe of the village.

‘Before houses were built here, this was all just fields. We need more houses in this country.

Chani Sanger, 30, a mother-of-one who helps run her family’s village pub, spoke passionately in favour of the development at the planning meeting

Retired toy entrepreneur Sheamus Maher, 79, has lived in the leafy village since 1974 and has led the charge against the development

Residents have been left reeling by the change in the initial plans

‘It’s like the League of Gentlemen. ‘This is a local village for local people.’

Architect and local councillor Roger Joyce, had major reservations about the plan.

Cllr Joyce said: ‘The algorithm that is used to interpret the Local Plan applies no context whatsoever.

‘On the original plan, people were saying 22 millionaires four-by-fours and probably not living here most of the time. Is that really what we want? But that was a low-density village site.

‘The site was originally designated to have a maximum estimated capacity of 30 – but then it suddenly became 48 and then eventually became 45.

‘How do you get 50 per cent more houses? We just don’t understand the process. The Pentland Homes situation is difficult for me because I am in that field anyway as an architect.

‘What I’ve tried to do since becoming a councillor is to forge a good relationship with Pentland because they’re on our doorstep. They’re our neighbour. They are the biggest landowners around here. And it’s inevitable that they’re going to be looking for development.

‘The Government are telling councils they’ve got to build houses, we know that. So we’ve tried to make arrangements and talk to them.

Other residents of the backwater had flagged that the waste water from Lyminge has flooded nearby Newington in the past

Lyminge’s county councillor Susan Carey said that resident would not object to the plans as much if Pentland had done a better job of communicating their ideas

‘A developer we know well has put big DFL (down from London) people near us and they all drive four-by-fours and drive like maniacs down narrow lanes.’

Referring to the term coined by locals for new residents from London, Cllr Joyce said: ‘Some of us use DFL affectionately because we actually welcome DFLs coming down and enriching the area.’

Julia Carr, another local critic said: ‘My concern is that this is blatantly overriding the approved Local Plan, without any of the checks and balances that were necessary for the plan.

‘There is a question mark over how the can simply chose to ignore the Local Plan to such an extent.’

Retired plumber Michael Johnson, who has lived in the area for 50 years, said he was concerned about the impact that the new dwellings would have on the sewage system.

Other residents of the backwater had flagged that the waste water from Lyminge has flooded nearby Newington in the past – and expressed concerns that the new development could see raw sewage seep into the town more often.

Lyminge’s county councillor Susan Carey said that resident would not object to the plans as much if Pentland had done a better job of communicating their ideas.

Cllr Carey said: ‘I think they could do a lot better. I think they’ve not communicated as well as they should have done.

‘They’ve got their permission to build houses, we all know they need to be connected to things like utilities but they need to explain what they are doing to minimise the disruption to ordinary people’s lives.

‘There’s always the dilemma that with people living longer, there aren’t the homes for young people that we need.’

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