An iconic landscape should be given national protection, says a council.

Cllr Brian Clark (Lib Dem) told colleagues at Maidstone council that the Greensand Ridge “is one of the borough’s most wonderful landscapes”.

“I defy anyone walking along the ridge and surveying the Weald below not to be moved by the beauty of the outlook,” he added.

But Cllr Clark, who put forward a motion to seek a national landscape designation for the ridge, said: “With planning rules being continually weakened and with the ongoing pressure for development, there is an urgent need to seek national protection.”

Cllr Claire Kehily (Green) agreed, saying: “Our own corner of England is rather lacking in national parks.

“Yet we are in the middle of the Garden of England and we should do all we can to preserve it for ourselves and future generations.”

However, Cllr Paul Harper (Fant and Oakwood Independents) thought the ambition too narrow.

He said: “In our Local Plan, we have designated three Landscapes of Local Value - the Greensand Ridge, the Medway Valley and the Low Weald.

“Each has its own characteristics and each is very deserving of protection.

“These other two sites are just as important at the Greensand Ridge.”

He warned that if only the Greensand Ridge were given protected status, it could make the other areas more vulnerable/

He said: “There’s a danger with the ever-increasing need for housing that it will inevitably be squeezed into the Medway Valley and the Low Weald.”

But his suggested amendment to include all three areas found little favour with other councillors.

Cllr Clark said: “It is incredibly difficult to move even one national landscape forward. If we add and add, we are only increasing the chance of failure.”

Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) agreed. He said: “Of all the landscapes, the Greensand Ridge is the one that is nationally and internationally known.

“We need to fight our battles where we can win.”

Cllr Clark’s motion was: “This council will lead a bid, either alone or with some or all of Kent’s Greensand Ridge local authorities, to Natural England and DEFRA seeking designation of the scarp and dip slope as a National Landscape.”

The matter will now go to the council’s planning and healthier stronger communities committee for further discussion.

The Greensand Ridge in Maidstone runs from Boughton Malherbe in the east to Nettlestead in the west.