An MP has joined the clamour against a proposal to build 150 homes on high value agricultural land.

Helen Grant, the MP for Maidstone and Malling, has added her voice to the 187 people who have already written to object to plans put forward by Gladman Developments for a 6.8-hectare site with access off Clare Lane in East Malling.

Gladman submitted the original outline application last October, but posted amendments to the design this July.

The company said it had changed the access layout and redesigned the positioning of the houses in a more “hodge-podge” manner to better reflect the rural nature of the area.

Mrs Grant (Con) said: “Throughout my time as a Member of Parliament, over-development has been a persistent issue raised by constituents, and I have fought hard to protect our precious green spaces from inappropriate housing.

“I am deeply concerned that housing pressures, exacerbated by Labour's dangerous Planning and Infrastructure Bill, will continue to impact Maidstone and Malling, particularly as Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) does not yet have a Local Plan.

“I am totally committed to fighting overdevelopment and I am therefore opposing this application for 150 houses south west of Clare Lane.”

Mrs Grant said: “I am aware that this land was proposed to be part of the Green Belt Extension in TMBC's most recent draft Local Plan.

“Furthermore, the single point of access proposed for this site is dangerous, posing an access risk for those living on the site as well as for emergency vehicles.

“Infrastructure in this region such as GP provision, school places, and transport is already under immense pressure and I urge TMBC to reject this application.”

The proposal site covers two agricultural fields in an L-shaped parcel of land between Stickens Lane and Clare Road in East Malling.

The application is outline only at the moment, meaning there are no final details about what the houses would look like or how large they would be.

However, the developer is promising there would be 90 market homes and 60 affordable properties, which meets the council’s policy of having 40% affordable homes.

The developer talks of leaving a margin of open space to the south of the site, which borders the Maidstone to London railway line, and says that together with other areas, the open space will amount to 2.17 hectares.

There will be a children’s play area and drainage pond.

The company acknowledges that the site is classified as countryside and is not currently designated for any development and therefore permission would not normally be granted.

However, Gladman argues that since Tonbridge and Malling currently does not have a valid Local Plan – after its last one was rejected by a government inspector – and it cannot demonstrate that it as five years of housing land supply, the application must be allowed.

Most of the objections from the public have centered on the loss of agricultural land, increased traffic on Clare Lane, and pressure on local infrastructure.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, visit here.

The public are still able to submit comments on the Gladman scheme by visiting the Tonbridge and Malling website. Applicaton number 23/03060 refers.