Council chiefs have been given more time to chew over proposals to develop huge swathes of rural land in Maidstone after being inundated with feedback from the public.

A map illustrating the extent of land that owners would be willing to sell to developers for business, retail and leisure use as well as housing was released by the local authority last year following its Call for Sites exercise, which is part of its Local Plan Review.

The town hall is under pressure from central government to deliver even more housing on top of the 17,000 already identified in its plan, which was agreed in 2017.

Therefore, like many other councils up and down the country, it is having to review the document every five years to try and meet changing needs and demands.

Some 334 options, which together could provide around 60,000 potential homes, were submitted before the Call for Sites deadline in May, but the council only needs to meet around a sixth of that as part of this process.

From the full list, the town hall will then select the options it thinks will best meet the requirements of the review.

However, the sheer number of sites put forward, as well as more than 550 responses received during the first stage of its public consultation, means officers are asking for more time to consider the submissions.

Philip Coyne, the council's interim director for the Local Plan Review said: “The Local Plan is pivotal to Maidstone’s ongoing ambitions to attract investment in jobs, housing and other facilities to the borough over the next 15 years.

"The level of response to the recent Call for Sites is very encouraging and is further evidence of continuing investor confidence in the borough.

“However, this does mean that the council now has more technical work to do in appraising all of the submissions fully and ensuring that we take forward proposals which will provide jobs, housing and community growth at the appropriate time, in the most suitable locations and in the most sustainable manner."

To allow this to happen, councillors were be briefed at a members' meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the second stage of the consultation, which will take place later this year.

Mr Coyne added: “It is important that as part of the process we work in close collaboration with infrastructure and transport providers - including Kent County Council and utility companies to ensure that the necessary requirements are fully considered to meet the needs of future development.

"This new timetable will also enable us to work with investors and developers to deliver growth more quickly and with greater certainty when the plan is adopted, which will be critical if we are to ensure that we meet the increased housing target set by government and that we maintain control of where new development takes place in the borough.”

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