Residents in Fant were given a taste of what the future might hold if the Jubilee School were allowed to expand.

In a protest organised by the Save Fant Farm Group, around 40 residents parked their cars in Gatland Lane in an imitation of what they say will happen when parents descend on the road to drop off their children if the borough council approves a request for a permanent school on the site.

Jubilee School opened in September under Free School legislation which enables it to operate for 12 months without full planning permission.

It currently has just 29 pupils. But there is a planning application submitted for a permanent school to take 420 pupils by September 2020.

Neighbours argue that the narrow road will not support the extra traffic - a contention that would seem to be borne out by the traffic chaos caused by today’s protest, with through traffic having to mount the kerb to get past the stationary vehicles.

Gareth Owen, chairman of the Save Fant Farm Group, said: “Our action brought traffic to a standstill, and that was with just 40 cars, probably only a third of the traffic that might be expected to be generated by the school at its full complement.

“It was graphic demonstration that the road is inadequate to cope with the predicted traffic levels.”

The Jubilee School application can be viewed on the Maidstone council website under planning reference 14/503957.