A 140-year-old railway station at risk of closure due to plans for a controversial development nearby looks to have been saved.

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is the master developer behind the proposed Heathlands Garden Village, which would see 5,000 homes built at Lenham Heath if approved.

But the scheme has seen a backlash from neighbours, who have set up a protest group to oppose it.

One concern is the impact it could have on Lenham railway station, which risked being shut to allow for a station down the line, serving the development.

A petition to protect it submitted by Save Our Heathlands chairwoman Katie Hammond attracted more than 3,000 signatures.

She said: “The only way MBC can make its ‘new town’ look sustainable is to rob the existing Lenham village community of its 140-year-old rail station on the Southeastern railway mainline and move it two miles down the road to the middle of the proposed development - currently open and green countryside.

“As a community we will not let MBC brazenly steal an existing and much used community asset for their whim to be a ‘master-developer’.”

Lenham station has been operating since 1884 and originally connected the village with Maidstone and Ashford.

Responding to the petition, director of regeneration and place at the council, William Cornall, said Network Rail wanted to keep multiple options open, adding: “What they insist on is a blank page approach.

“So they won’t entertain a scenario where we’re in the driving seat and this is what we want Network Rail to do.

“One of the options that was looked at but widely discounted by our consultancy firm, is that Lenham station would close in favour of a new station.

“But the evidence doesn’t support the closure of Lenham station; they were very clear about that.

“This is not what the evidence is pointing to, it’s not what the promoters are wanting, we are not looking to progress the option of shutting the station.”

Maidstone council leader, Cllr David Burton (Con), said: “Planning something of this scale, refining the details and getting it right, bringing this all together isn’t a five-minute exercise. So there will be parts of it that are less certain but as we move forward, greater clarity and certainty will come.”