RESIDENTS in Staplehurst, near Maidstone, have claimed victory over developers after an application for a 54-house estate was turned down.

People living in Oliver Road and Butcher Close had opposed plans by Wimpey Homes to build on a neighbouring 12-acre greenfield site.

Members of Maidstone Borough Council's planning committee unanimously overturned the application. At the meeting, Staplehurst ward member Cllr Richard Lusty (Con) said: "Staplehurst just does not have the infrastructure to cope. The schools, roads, doctors, can't cope. At the moment I do not think we should have any more development until we get that infrastructure right. Staplehurst started out as a little village. It would be wrong to call it a village now."

The site has a long history of failed planning attempts from Wimpey - with applications for housing developments dating back to 1985.

The borough council's planning department received 39 letters objecting to the latest application, including Staplehurst School, in Gybbon Rise, and the Staplehurst Society.