Families living on a housing estate built almost 100 years ago fear their community is being swallowed up by huge developments on surrounding land.

Residents in ‘old’ Hersden – a former mining village on the edge of Canterbury – are already braced for 620 new homes on two sites across the other side of the A28, with construction on one already well under way.

And now they face being sandwiched between sprawling housing estates, with official plans for 800 homes on farmland to the north recently submitted.

The latest – and biggest – development alone would take 13 years to build and see the village’s population swell by 1,800.

If approved, it will be one of three large housing schemes surrounding the old estate, with many properties already built and occupied on the 250-home Hoplands Farm estate opposite - which developers want to increase by a further 59 properties.

Meanwhile planning permission has been secured for 370 homes at the former Chislet Colliery site.

Many locals fear the latest plans will “forever” change the character of the once tight-knit village, which was built in 1924 to house miners working at the nearby Chislet Colliery.

Ross Llewellyn, 84, knows Hersden better then most and is one of the few remaining former miners who worked at the colliery, which closed in 1969.

He followed in his father’s footsteps in going down the pit after his parents moved from Wales to Kent in the 1930s, later transferring to the Betteshanger mine.

He and his wife Ginny have lived in their home in The Avenue – built by the colliery – for 57 years and have seen many changes in the village. But he fears the estate will be dwarfed by the latest development and could lose its character.

“It was a very tight-knit community back in the mining days,” he recalls.

“There was a real spirit to the place and everyone knew everyone. Sadly, there’s only a handful of us old pit workers left now.”

Parish councillor Ross, who has written a history of the village, believes the scheme is already a done deal as the land has long been earmarked for housing in the council’s Local Plan.

"I fear it will change the character of Hersden forever and we will no longer be a little community...”

“It will dwarf the old estate but all we can do is try and get the best out of it for residents, making sure there’s affordable housing and sports and other facilities, which we couldn’t afford without it,” he said.

“But we do have concerns about the sheer volume of extra traffic that will be coming out onto the A28, which is already over-congested.

“It’s progress I suppose, but I fear it will change the character of Hersden forever and we will no longer be a little community.”

The latest scheme submitted by Persimmon Homes also includes land for offices, an extension to the primary school, a sports pavilion, community hall and playing fields, as well as an on-site waste water treatment works.

A masterplan has already been through a pre-planning phase with city council officers, which the developer claims was noted as being “well considered” by the panel.

It was also presented to villagers at a public exhibition in April, where concerns were raised about traffic on the A28, the loss of countryside view, and the impact the development would have on nature and wildlife.

Others were worried the new development would become a separate new community and not be part of the village.

Persimmon describes its proposal as a “high-quality development following garden settlement principles”, with each home having a car-charging point.

It estimates a construction timescale over two phases lasting 13 years, with about 170 construction vehicle movements, plus 130 workforce cars and vans, every day. And while it says walking, cycling, car-sharing and public transport will be promoted, it admits there will be an “adverse affect” on traffic congestion on the already clogged A28.

The development will funnel more vehicles onto the road towards Canterbury, with Sturry bearing the brunt, despite a planned ‘relief road’ to take vehicles away from the snarled-up level crossing.

There will also only be one access to the new estate – a spur off the same roundabout leading to the Lakesview International Business Park.

If approved, the phased development would begin with groundworks in 2023, with the aim to build 60 homes a year.

Persimmon says the scheme “provides opportunities to enhance habitats, creating benefits to flora and fauna”.

The proposal also includes a travel plan, offering alternatives to car use, and environmental reports supporting the application predict the impact on air quality will be “negligible” and the loss of good agricultural land is “minimal”.

The applicant also predicts new job opportunities, both before and after construction.

Peace about to be shattered

Philip and Marjorie Sumnall moved to their pretty cottage on the edge of Hersden 17 years ago for the peaceful, countryside views it offers from the rear of their home.

The couple, who are both chefs, now feel helpless to stop the impact on their quality of life that the construction work and new housing will bring.

“When we first moved here, we never dreamed that housing would be built on such fine farmland and the rural landscape behind us,” said Marjorie.

“That’s why we chose the house, and we have really enjoyed the seclusion and wildlife on our doorstep, as well as the wonderful sunsets.

“But a few years ago we heard rumblings of housing plans and now it looks like it will become a reality.”

"Who would want to live here with a huge housing estate going up almost in our back garden?"

Philip says the couple were shocked to see the scale of what is being proposed.

“We doubt we can even sell up and move away to avoid it because who would want to live here with a huge housing estate going up almost in our back garden?” he said.

“We can complain, of course, but we know that the loss of our views, tranquillity and quality of life is not a planning consideration.”

'Easy target villagers fear traffic chaos'

Semi-retired landscape contractor John Caddick lives on the opposite side of the A28, just a few yards from the roundabout where the only access for the new estate traffic will be created.

“How this development will be allowed to have only one entrance onto a roundabout for 800 homes is beyond me,” he said.

“It’s unheard of for that scale of housing and will cause real traffic jams, even before vehicles get onto the A28.

“But I’m told they can’t create another access through the old estate or Chislet Gardens, so it will be interesting to see what the council planners make of that.

“The trouble is that people in Hersden rarely complain about anything, which is why it is seen as an easy target.”

Mr Caddick is also baffled as to why the scheme will be allowed on farmland before housing is developed on the brownfield site of the old colliery.

“The main road struggles to cope at the present time..."

“This is fine farmland with a lot of wildlife that will be disturbed,” he added.

In his objection on the planning portal, Paul Pressley says that far too much green space has already been taken up in the area by housing developments, which are disrupting its natural beauty.

“The main road struggles to cope at the present time and with the additional volume of traffic this is only going to compound the situation,” he says. “Myself and my neighbours fear that the sprawl from these new built-up areas detracts from what the area has been for years – little communities.”

Eddie Hammer, who lives beside a lane off the A28, will bear the brunt of the first phase of housing, with construction work taking place on a field behind his home.

“At the moment, we have a rural outlook, but that will change forever and we are going to lose some fine farmland with the impact that has on wildlife,” he said.

Villagers in nearby Westbere are also dreading the future impact of extra traffic on the A28.

Parish council chairman Paul Glover says he is concerned about the “massive scale” of development in Hersden and the increasing number of vehicles be funnelled onto the main road, adding: “It’s going to have a huge impact on Westbere and we are going to end up trapped in our village.”

Estate built on coal

The old estate was originally known as the Chislet Colliery Village until its name was changed to Hersden in 1929.

It was planned and constructed by the Chislet Colliery Company to house coal miners and their families who had moved to Kent, mainly from Wales, Scotland and the North to work in the nearby mine.

The village was built as a self-contained community providing its own utilities, electricity for the houses and street lights, and its own sewage treatment farm.

In its prime, the village boasted three churches, the first a Methodist Church which is now a neighbourhood centre.

Only St Dunstan’s remains as a fully functioning church, with St Albans demolished in 1978 in preparation for the St Albans Housing Project.

There were three general stores, including a butchers and a drapers shop, as well as a post office and a fish shop. All but the general store, incorporating the post office, have disappeared.

The Chislet Colliery Welfare Club is now the only link with the colliery.

The Black Horse pub, which was built in 1931 and was once the social hub of the village, is now a Chinese restaurant.

The 1970s saw the construction of the St Albans council housing project, and the following two decades the Maple Gardens private housing.

The major change came in the new millennium with the construction of Chislet Gardens to the west of the village, with almost 300 private homes.