A developer’s bid to axe all affordable housing from a new estate has been branded "disgraceful" by angry neighbours.

Abbey Developments Ltd is building 100 homes on the edge of Deal after plans were approved in 2022.

The company was due to make 30% of properties affordable - but now wants to remove that requirement following a "viability assessment" carried out by French bank BNP Paribas.

The move has sparked fury among residents who say the site off Cross Road provides a "green edge" to the town.

Lynn French, who lives a few hundred yards away in Station Road, says she thinks the move is "appalling".

"It was granted permission on the basis they were going to provide affordable housing," she said.

“That is needed because there are so many people who can’t afford a mortgage nowadays who need to be able to rent property.

“There is just nowhere in the district where you can rent for a reasonable amount.”

Mrs French’s husband, Peter, said: “It’s disgraceful. The council has always said in its plans it would want affordable housing with major developments.”

Abbey Developments Ltd wants a condition demanding the affordable homes provision to be removed by Dover District Council (DDC).

But the authority's housing policy states 30% affordable accommodation should be included in applications for more than 15 homes.

Affordable housing schemes aim to make cheaper homes available for people who cannot afford to buy or rent at market rates.

The government says they should be "social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing, provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market".

Reacting to the plans this week, neighbour Judy Wilson says Deal “needs affordable housing without any shadow of doubt”.

“I’m absolutely shocked and horrified by the whole thing. It’s being done in a really unhelpful way,” she said.

“We opposed the original planning because it's taken over a lovely big bit of our countryside.

“People are moving into the area and we just haven't got any housing for our own. So it really is quite shocking that they're doing all of this.”

Abbey Developments Ltd, of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, gained outline permission for the homes in February 2021 and full permission in December 2022.

This is for detached, semi-detached and terrace houses and a maisonette block.

Construction has already started on the development, which is on 9.76 acres of open land at the corner of Cross Road and Station Road.

But the developer’s request to remove all affordable housing has led to 12 opposing letters from the public on the DDC planning portal and none supporting.

In a statement, a DDC spokesman said: “We can confirm that 30% of housing at this site needs to be affordable, under the existing outline permission Section 106 agreement.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

"This new application is seeking to allow the affordable housing to be removed from the scheme.

"We would stress that no decision has been made on this new application, and all relevant planning matters/feedback will be taken fully into consideration.

KentOnline contacted Abbey Abbey Developments Ltd for comment.