Villagers fear they are at risk of being “swallowed up" by huge developments as plans have emerged for 625 homes behind a football stadium.

Residents living in Kingsnorth, Ashford, are already braced for scores of new homes in the area, including the nearby Chilmington Green 'garden town' of 5,750 properties.

Now, Pentland Homes has earmarked a 102-acre plot off Steeds Lane for development - just a stone's throw from Ashford United's Homelands Stadium.

The company has lodged a screening opinion document with Ashford Borough Council (ABC), which marks the first step of the planning process.

It is a document asking the council whether or not any future planning application needs to include an environmental impact assessment.

Although an application is yet to be lodged, the documents show how Pentland wants to build a mix of one to five-bedroom “open market and affordable” homes.

But residents in Kingsnorth feel the village will be unable to cope with more homes.

Sue Walder, 60, who has lived in the area for two years, said: “There are too many houses around here and the drainage is not good.

“At the moment I get flooded as it is; can you imagine what it would be like if there were even more homes?

“The road is very narrow and wouldn't cope with lots of traffic going up and down, it’s not a good spot for houses.”

Sally Beresford, 52, says the only benefit the homes could bring would be improved infrastructure.

But she said: “Ashford Road is already very busy and that can’t cope.

“We have always been Ashford-based, we moved from Singleton, a built-up area, for it to be a bit quiet but still near the shops and bus routes.”

The land was put forward for development in ABC’s "call for sites" - an invitation to developers and landowners to submit plots for inclusion in the authority’s new Local Plan, which sets out where homes could be built in the borough up to 2041.

Pentland’s proposal comes as thousands of homes are already planned for other areas nearby.

To the north of the site, planning permission was granted on appeal for the Kingsnorth Green development of 550 homes.

The nearby Chilmington Green development, parts of which have already been built, will eventually see 5,750 properties constructed.

And 1,000 homes are also proposed as part of the Court Lodge development in Pound Lane.

Pentland claims its new development represents a “logical extension” to these schemes, which are known as the 'South Ashford Garden Community'.

But resident Amber Jade says she fears the village she grew up in is now being “swallowed up”.

“The roads have been failing for a long time, they are not maintained and there is definitely not the infrastructure for more homes," she said.

“This used to be a tiny village but now it seems this side of Ashford is becoming a massive place for urban sprawl.

“We have one of the worst crossings for accidents in Ashford with Magpie Hall Road, Steeds Lane and Ashford Road.

“It's awful as it is so adding more cars to it will only make it worse.

“We have had so many water leaks, the internet and signal zones out here are shocking.

“It’s a concern that existing residents aren't getting the services they need, to add on more would slow it down even more.

“We already struggle to get doctors' appointments, villages are becoming overwhelmed and swallowed up by massive housing estates.”

One resident who asked to remain anonymous said they would “support” the extra homes, “as long as they make the roads better”.

Another said: “People need places to live, so as far as we are concerned, it's not an issue, I would support the application.

“As long as the facilities are put in place to allow the place to grow then I have no issue with it.”

Cllr Ray McGeever (Ashford Independent), the ward representative for Kingsnorth and Bridgefield, says he does not think Pentland's plan "will happen in the next five years".

He said: “ABC is looking at its 2041 Local Plan, a lot of landowners have applied for consideration, but it’s a broad-spectrum plan.

“Applications are going to drop out of the air, they are from people who are saying to ABC ‘would you consider buying my land?’

“Landowners and developers are testing the water, which will relate to the 2041 Local Plan which ABC has to produce through legislation.

“They put the 'call for sites' out earlier this year and we have a lot of information from developers to go through to identify the suitability of it.

“It doesn't mean it is definitely going to happen, it means it is being considered.

“Developers are applying on behalf of the land owner to see if they can get houses built, it could be a planning application to test the waters out."

ABC, which is run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, does not currently have a five-year housing supply for new homes - a government requirement.

In recent years, housebuilding in the area has been hampered by pollution issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury.

The protected beauty spot has been affected by wastewater run-off from developments across east Kent causing high levels of harmful nitrate and phosphate nutrients.

As a result, rules set down by Natural England insist developers must ensure all schemes in the River Stour catchment area are “nutrient neutral” - either by having an on-site water treatment facility or offsetting the impact by providing mitigation measures elsewhere, such as wetlands.

In response to residents’ concerns, Pentland says plans are already in place to upgrade the road network in the area.

“It is a challenge that many councils face…”

“Regarding the concerns over the junction of Steeds Lane and Ashford Road, the recently approved Kingsnorth Green development includes a requirement to reconfigure this junction in accordance with improvements approved by Kent County Council,” managing director Paul Kitchingman said.

“There is also a separate planning permission granted in October last year that provides for a new doctor’s surgery to be constructed in this area, specifically on land to the east of Ashford Road.

“ABC’s existing adopted Local Plan indicates that, in the council’s opinion, land to the south of Steeds Lane could be suitable for 'potential future development'.”

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ABC did not comment on Pentland's proposal but confirmed it has been unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land since 2020.

"It is a challenge that many councils face and doesn’t mean that any housing proposal will be required to be granted planning permission," a spokesman said.

"The council has an adopted Local Plan in place, and this still provides an up-to-date policy framework to determine planning applications.

"We are also in the process of reviewing the Local Plan, in line with the government’s requirements, and this will provide a mechanism to rectify the land supply position in due course.”