Plans to re-draw the ward boundaries in parts of Kent have sparked outrage.

Residents in villages around Maidstone and the Weald are incensed over proposals they feel will sever their local communities.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is currently undertaking a second round of consultation on its proposal to redraw ward boundaries to both equalise the number of voters in each ward, and to reduce the overall number of borough councillors from the existing 55 to 49.

At present, Harrietsham and Lenham is a two-member ward, which since 2014 has returned two Independent councillors, husband and wife team Tom and Janetta Sams.

Next door is the geographically larger, but electorally smaller, North Downs Ward, represented since 2016 by the Conservative Patrik Garten.

The commission's proposal was to turn them into a combined three-member ward.

But when the council's democracy and general purposes committee met to decide the borough's response to the proposals, Cllr Garten proposed staying with two wards, arguing the more rural area of North Downs had little in common with Harrietsham and Lenham.

But to achieve the required voter numbers, that would involve splitting off all residents currently in Lenham, but living north of the A20 and giving them to North Downs.

It would also involve taking the Pilgrims Retreat mobile homes park from Harrietsham and giving it to North Downs.

The proposal was unanimously accepted by the committee, but has since been condemned by Lenham Parish Council, which points out such a move would divorce both the Lenham Cemetery and the Lenham Memorial Cross, from the rest of Lenham.

John Britt, chairman of the parish council, labelled the proposal "a ridiculous idea."

He said: "This is all about Cllr Garten trying to protect his North Downs Ward - at the expense of Lenham.

"It appears that Maidstone council is desperately seeking a solution which would allow one political party to hold on to political areas it is concerned about losing."

Tom and Janetta Sams, who were not part of the committee, said they were "deeply disappointed" the proposal had been put forward at such a late stage, without a chance for proper review by the public.

They noted that Maidstone council, in its original proposal to the commission had sought to remove voters from the south of Lenham; now it was advocating cutting off a chunk from the north.

Cllr Tom Sams said: "There has been no dialogue with our residents. The people of Lenham do not want a breakup of their parish."

Under Cllr Garten's proposal, the Sams would find themselves no longer living in their own ward.

Cllr Janetta Sams said: "Retrofitting seems to be the order of the day for MBC, and if they can also remove the two Independent ward councillors from living within their own Harrietsham and Lenham ward, this fits their needs.”

Meanwhile, residents in Sutton Valence were equally upset that the boundary commission was proposing to insert Sutton Valence into a combined ward with Headcorn.

Cllr Eve Poulter, chairman of Sutton Valence Parish Council, said the obvious grouping was of Sutton Valence, Chart Sutton and East Sutton, as there were already strong links between those three villages.

She said: "We've been merged into a conglomeration with Headcorn - that's exactly what we didn't want.

"We will be lost in the ether if we become part of such a large ward."

She was supported by Cllr Wendy Young (Con), who currently represents Sutton Valence and Langley at the borough council. She said: "I'm dismayed. It would appear that for the boundary commission, electoral equality is the overriding factor.

"They are proposing this despite the fact that Sutton Valence has no community links with Headcorn."

All the committee members expressed "heartfelt sympathy" with Sutton Valence, but said they could see no alternative.

Committee chairman Cllr Paul Cooper (Con) said: "Splitting up communities doesn't feel well, but it is the least bad option."

The Local Government Boundary Review's proposals can be viewed on an interactive map here.

The boundary commission will have the final say, with a decision expected at the end of November