Property developers say a masterplan to transform sites at the former Wye College could be completed within six months.

Property company Telereal Trillium completed the purchase of buildings from Imperial College London last month, and is now seeking to redevelop some of the sites.

On Monday night representatives from Telereal Trillium, Hobbs Parker, GL Hearn, BDB Design and Lloyd Bore gave a presentation at the village church, and vowed to listen to villagers’ views.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium, Hobbs Parker consultant David Jarman rubbished the record of Imperial College and said the previous plans were “in the waste paper basket”.

He said: “It’s clear we need to find out more about the local area through public consultation, getting your views about what is important in your village.

“We will start from the first principle about what is important to you in the village. Some buildings might be suitable for redevelopment, we must ensure that whatever replacements are made will make the village better and improve on what Wye already has.”

Former owners Imperial College London had put forward plans for a new £1 billion science park and thousands of homes, but faced strong local opposition.

The plans were abandoned in 2006, and Imperial faced further setbacks in 2010 and 2012 when its plans to redevelop Withersdane Hall and knock down the Wolfson Lecture Theatre were either dropped or rejected by Ashford Borough Council.

At the meeting on Monday consultant Nick Jones, from GL Hearn, said the new consortium aims to approach the project from a different angle to Imperial, and hopes to work alongside villagers.

But audience members raised concerns about the new developer’s intentions, with Cllr Noel Ovenden expressing his concern that the consortium won’t work within the framework of the village’s neighbourhood plan.

For a full report from the meeting, check out page 19 of today’s Kentish Express (Thursday, November 5).