New homes plan

Contentious plans to build more than 200 homes to cover the cost of a new multi-million pound primary school have been formally submitted.

An outline planning application to construct 210 properties, 36 care units and a new children’s centre on land off Stanhope Road, next to the John Wallis Academy, has been lodged with Ashford Borough Council (ABC).

Kent County Council (KCC) is behind the huge redevelopment, which bosses say will recover the cost of building the new £4.75m primary on the secondary school site.

If the scheme is approved, the homes will be built on the current Ray Allen children’s centre site and former Linden Grove Primary School land.

The ex-Linden Grove land has been made available for development since pupils moved into the new primary school building on the main John Wallis Academy site in January.

Controversially, the replacement Ray Allen children’s centre will be built on the Oak Field next to the Courtside sports facility, with the 36 care units also planned to go on the existing open space.

Cllr Dara Farrell (Lab), who lives in Luddenham Close near to the proposed development, is opposed to the scheme, which features no affordable housing.

“I am angry about the whole thing,” the KCC member for Ashford South said.

“There’s no social or affordable housing proposed in the scheme.

“I am entirely supportive of the new primary school - we all know Linden Grove needed to be reprovided.

“But national government should be paying for the provision of a primary school - we shouldn’t be building on open land to fund it.”

Cllr Farrell, who fought to get a sensory room included in the redevelopment of the Ray Allen centre, says the community will lose out.

A mix of one to four-bed properties are proposed as a mix of houses and flats, with buildings

If the scheme is approved the homes would be built on the site of the Ray Allen Centre