Plans to build hundreds of homes next to a sprawling “garden town” have been rejected – with councillors saying they have “nothing positive” to say about the idea.

Hodson Developments – the company behind the first phase of the 5,750-home Chilmington Green development in Ashford – put forward an application to build another 665 properties on top of what has already been agreed.

They were earmarked for agricultural land along the A28 at Possingham Farm which is not in the borough’s Local Plan - a planning blueprint setting out the sites identified for development up to 2030.

The 50-acre plot is also outside the development zone already agreed for Chilmington Green, which will be built in phases.

Having reviewed the application, planning officers at Ashford Borough Council (ABC) encouraged councillors to refuse the scheme.

Speaking at a planning meeting on Wednesday, ward member Cllr Jessamy Blanford (Con) supported the motion to refuse, saying the development would be harmful to the surrounding rural area and would close the gap between the villages of Great Chart and Bethersden.

“I find it impossible to find anything positive to say about this application,” she said.

“The site is largely outside the red line development area for Chilmington Green, the red line is set in stone.

“The site is not in the Ashford Local Plan, it is agricultural land meant to be maintained as a buffer between Chilmington Green and the open countryside.

“The 665 houses would lead to a considerable growth in traffic on the A28 currently and the improvements for the A28 are not scheduled.

“It could possibly lead to drainage problems and a displacement of wildlife.”

The Weald Central representative also raised concerns about the lack of new services proposed for residents such as shops and a doctor’s surgery, and public transport links for buses.

Cllr Ken Mulholland (Con), who seconded the motion to refuse, called it an “overdevelopment”, that would “eat into fields destroying villages”.

Representatives from Great Chart with Singleton Parish Council and Bethersden Parish Council also objected, saying approving a plan like this could “unlock the door for further unnecessary development”.

But Hodson felt the proposals were “sensitively designed”, and would have created a “logical and rational extension” to the Chilmington Green development, which was approved in 2014.

In planning documents, the firm said Possingham Farm was not in an environmentally sensitive location and developing the site would not impact “rare, protected, notable or other species”, adding “improved landscaping would enhance the local environment and improve biodiversity”.

At the same meeting, before the Possingham Farm plan was rejected, Hodson’s controversial bid for a wastewater management site to support thousands of new homes at Chilmington Green was deferred.

Councillors have asked for a site visit to assess what environmental impacts the development – planned for land to the west of Chilmington Green Road – could have on nearby homes.

People living in Shadoxhurst will welcome the delay after previously raising concerns the site would cause a foul stench as well as noise, air and light pollution in their community.

Those living in Tally Ho Road and Magpie Hall Road feel it is not fair they have to put up with it being right next to their homes, as it will not serve their properties.

The plant would be 250 metres from the nearest home, when the recommended distance is double.

As part of the Chilmington Green scheme, Hodson is also required to pay for upgrades to dual a stretch of the nearby A28 Chart Road between Matalan and ‘Tank’ roundabouts to help the traffic network cope with the new homes.

A planning agreement with Kent County Council currently states it must put forward the money when 400 homes are occupied.

About 300 properties are now lived in but, in the last month, Hodson submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate that “seeks to vary or delete” a significant number of its current requirements in its section 106 agreement.

Those agreements allow councils to get money from developers in exchange for granting planning permission for projects, making a development proposal acceptable in planning terms.

When the dualling project was first announced, it was set to cost £26.2 million but “inflationary pressures” mean this has now risen to £30 million.

But both ABC and Kent County Council keen to see the project followed through as agreed.

The Chilmington Green and Possingham Farm sites are just two spots earmarked for development to the south of Ashford.

Elsewhere, there are plans to build 1,000 homes at the nearby Court Lodge Farm and another 550 at Kingsnorth Green.

Hodson Developments did not respond when approached for comment by KentOnline.