A tiny hamlet’s legal challenge to plans to impose a garden village of 2,000 homes on them has failed.

Bredhurst Parish Council took their battle against Maidstone council’s plans to create a garden village at Lidsing all the way to the High Court.

They had asked for a judicial review of the borough’s Local Plan-making process.

But yesterday (September 17), High Court judge, Mr Justice Fordham, refused permission for the parish council to bring a claim for statutory review of the adoption of the Maidstone Local Plan Review, and in particular the allocation of Lidsing Garden Village as a strategic site.

The decision is the end of the road for the legal process.

It means the Lidsing allocation remains in the Local Plan - as does also the hotly contested plan for 5,000 homes at Lenham Heath.

The loss of the court action will likely mean Bredhurst will have to fork out costs of up to £10,000.

The Lidsing Garden Village, which would cover 127 hectares, was part of the Maidstone Local Plan Review which was adopted by a majority vote of 31 votes to 21 in March, under the previous Conservative administration.

The legal challenge had been largely funded by donations made by villagers, with a fighting fund reaching almost £100,000.

The parish council said it would now work with the borough council and the developer, FD Attwood and Partners, to draft policies to help mitigate the worst impacts of the development, with nearby villages especially worried about traffic and access to the site.

Vanessa Jones, chairman of Bredhurst Parish Council, said: “I'm bitterly disappointed, but I know that I and Bredhurst Parish Council could not have done any more than we did.

“We are hugely grateful to the thousands of supporters who have stood by us and who have donated so generously.”