We must fight to protect countryside

With regard to letter Your Views Are Always Ignored (November 6), the Chilmington Green problem is not one of ignored election promises but unsuccessful challenge prior to 2008 Local Plan adoption.

The present revision to the Local Plan is set to become a Chilmington Green repeat because little interest is being shown, despite it adding further greenfield land for 4,000 homes.

Residents of a mind must act now and not leave merely to the 2015 election.

The Government abolished the John Prescott plan and housing targets; and Ashford objectively assessed need by Cambridge Econometrics concludes no more land is required since the 10k+ homes not built in the Local Plan satisfy the 20-year supply sought by the revision.

Government Ministers state the focus should be on increasing annual buildingrate not the housing number and they support halting urban sprawl into the countryside to maintain the vital green lungs around towns. With Ashford’s annual building rate sliding to just 137 homes and much Greenfield land already adopted, Ministers make a telling point.

As well as exceeding past annual achievement, the 730 homes being pushed forward ignores existing resident need, as 427 are for inward migration. The question of sustainability is glossed over with no acknowledgment that Ashford has no further capacity in its hospital, surgeries and schools; as well as roads and water. With unemployment very low, exploitation of the jobs argument by those advocating more greenfield land is immaterial.

Unless we as residents shout louder now another ‘Chilmington Green’ is just around the corner and countryside demise is destined to follow that of the town centre. Winston Michael, Ashford Independent councillor, Boughton Aluph and Eastwell

Your front page story Car Chase Drama Creates Gridlock (November 6) illustrates very well the precarious state of the transport infrastructure in and around Ashford.

Add in another 10,000 vehicles from the Chilmington Green Garden City and gridlock will become permanent. Ralph Carpenter, Chilmington Green, Great Chart