Residents fear a village's “green belt” could be turned into a “concrete jungle” after swathes of land were put forward for new homes in the area.

A number of fields surrounding the edge of Chilham, between Ashford and Canterbury, have been included in Ashford Borough Council's 'call for sites'.

This is an invitation to developers and landowners to submit plots for inclusion in preparing the authority’s new Local Plan, which sets out where homes could be built in the borough up to 2041.

If all the sites were deemed suitable for development, it could see hundreds of new homes built on the outskirts of the village.

This has left many in the area concerned and a ‘Save Our Village’ campaign has now been set up by two residents in Chilham.

Carl Lygo, who is one of the leaders behind the campaign, has lived in the area for 20 years and fears the number of homes in the village could “double” if the plans were to go ahead.

“Nobody knew about these plans so we wanted to make sure the villagers were aware of it,” the 56-year-old explained.

“The main issue is the scale – it feels unreasonable and irresponsible. We are not against development full stop but it's just the amount of it.

“These are significant plans. It could double the amount of homes in our village.”

Chilham is part of the protected Kent Downs National Landscape - and designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty - and is recognised to be of "particular historical and architectural importance".

The sites proposed to the local plan include land south of Bagham Road, The Marsh and Pump House Field and land adjacent to Tollgate, Maidstone Road.

Those areas would be for housing and the fourth, nearest to The Beeches, would be for biodiversity.

Mr Lygo, a barrister who lives in Arden Grange, says he would be able to see the new homes from his garden and believes the development would “change the character” of the village.

He added: “I moved here because of how beautiful and quiet it is. Why would you spoil our natural landscape when there are other brownfield sites which could be built on?

“This could destroy our green belt and turn it into a concrete jungle.

“People are already trying to get out of Chilham and if this were approved I think a lot more people would plan to move out of the village.”

Last autumn, ABC invited people to put forward sites they own or to suggest land that may potentially be available, for inclusion in the drafting of its planning blueprint.

More than 300 plots were submitted and planning officers will now start assessing each one to look at their “suitability, availability and achievability” before any decisions are made.

Among those are the Ashford School site off East Hill and a suggestion for converting part of the Ashford’s County Square shopping centre.

Once all sites have been assessed, the authority’s preferred options will be published for public consultation.

Last year, Chilham was named one of the prettiest UK villages last year by The Times, thanks to its medieval square and quaint old buildings.

It has even been used to film A Canterbury Tale, Emma as well as Miss Marple.

Despite no decision yet being made, when KentOnline visited Chilham last week, the concern from residents was clear to see.

Cyril Whitewood of Felborough Close has lived in the village for the past seven years and fears the facilities in the area “would not be able to cope” with a large influx of new residents.

“If it were passed through it would be right on my doorstep. I would be able to see the new homes from my window,” said the 77-year-old.

“There is nowhere near enough facilities to cope with this potential influx of people.

“Our doctor's surgery has closed and we only have one small school.”

Furthermore, Mr Whitewood says there are a “lot of elderly residents” on his estate and is concerned about the stress the potential development could cause them.

He added: “I’m 78 this year. You don't want diggers driving around the estate and causing a lot of noise.

“It would be incredibly disruptive for all of us here.

“Everybody I know is against it and it is causing a lot of stress that we really don't need.”

It is not yet known how many homes would be built on the sites, but more than 24 acres of land have been included in the proposals.

Elsewhere in the village, a project to build a 114-acre “countryside-wrecking” solar farm on land north of Chilham and Old Wives Lees was axed in April.

The proposals by international firm Green Switch Capital to install about 75,000 panels were turned down by ABC.

Ward councillor for Chilham, Geoff Meaden (Green), said: “ At the moment these sites have not been accepted by Ashford Borough Council for development.

“Over the next few months, council planners will be selecting what they consider to be viable development sites on the basis of them being deliverable, each area’s housing needs, meeting central government housing targets, landscape and conservation restrictions, etc.

“After this process, local people will again be consulted and the parish council will call a public meeting to discuss with residents on how they wish to proceed.

“So, there is no truth that the ‘destruction of the green belt is proposed’”.