Tree lined avenues, open spaces and a pastiche of mixed buildings; all this led planners to give their nod of approval for a further 122 homes off a busy route into the County Town.

But while Maidstone council planning officer Rob Jarman commended the good design of the proposed Bryant Homes development on land behind Maidstone Fire Station in Loose Road, others had misgivings.

At a planning meeting on Thursday night Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) warned traffic generated by the development would cause “real problems” and that “the quality of life of residents will suffer” as a result.

While he said there were plus points to the scheme, he described the pastiche apartments as “clunky” and said flats at the Loose Road entrance to the development - described as “modern” by Mr Jarman - were actually “old fashioned”.

His calls to save the rural nature of Pheasant Lane, which runs behind the development site, were echoed by Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), who warned there was danger for residents of the road.

He said: “I used to be the postman and delivered along Pheasant Lane. Many times I nearly got run over.”

He added: “There’s a clear need for action.”

Cllr Paulina Stockell (Con) said the plans were “in accordance with the borough plan, the structure plan and the South East plan.

“I don’t think there’s been a desperate number of objections,” she said, “all in all most people are supporting this.”

The committee voted to allow Mr Jarman to approve the application subject to conditions being met by developers.