Villagers hit outatplanfor new homes

A controversial homes plan which first surfaced in 2017 has returned – and villagers have again come out strongly in opposition.

The original scheme to build 14 houses on a former goods yard at Bramble Lane, Wye, was unanimously refused by Ashford Borough Council.

Councillors said access to the site adjacent to the village’s train station was too limited, and the Planning Inspectorate agreed when it went to appeal.

Now a new application submitted by developer Pathway Project 1 Limited has seen the number of houses reduced to nine, but it has again been met by heavy resistance from the Wye community.

Furthermore, the height of some houses has now been reduced with all ranging between two to three storeys, featuring three or four bedrooms.

The developers say access to the application site is via Bramble Lane across an “informally laid out” car park that serves the train station.

Up to April 1, 44 objection comments had been lodged by residents with none in support of the scheme.

One resident, Paul Barton, voiced his worries, saying: “Leaving it as is currently planned means that vital vehicular access - for emergency vehicles, delivery vans and refuse collection in particular - will be difficult or impossible.

“Regular and essential rail works from the site are also likely to cut off access.”

He also aired concerns over a reduction in public parking and the knock-on effect of that, as well as the houses’ proposed proximity to the railway that would not “allow for comfortable living”.

However KCC Highways stated in its report that “the existing informal car parking is proposed to be formalised with the provision of a formal 28 space car park through a separate agreement with Network Rail”.

Mr Barton’s issues, along with 13 others, are cited in Wye with Hinxhill Parish Council’s ‘holding objection’ to the proposal.

Its report questions the privacy of existing residents in neighbouring Havillands Place, as well as the development’s impact on ecology.

The council has asked for an extension to the process to “further examine the application and take residents’ comments into account”.

But in its planning and design statement, agent Designscape Consultancy Ltd states there should be no concerns.

The company writes: “The proposal would deliver nine new dwellings and would do so on a brownfield site in a sustainable location.”

This computer-generated image shows what the developers had initially planned, but they have now cut the number of homes from 14 to nine

If permission is granted, this former goods yard off Bramble Lane, Wye, will be built on

How one of the nine homes could look