Hundreds of people turned out tonight to a public meeting called to discuss Maidstone council’s housing plans.

On the platform at the Maidstone Studios in New Cut Road were the county town’s two MPs, Helen Grant representing Maidstone and the Weald, and Helen Whately representing Faversham and Mid Kent.

Also present were Gary Thomas from CPRE Maidstone and Hilary Newport from CPRE Kent, Geraldine Brown from Maidstone KALC, Cllr Matthew Balfour from KCC, economist Dr Rebecca Driver and John Horne from the Joint Parishes Group.

Representing the borough council were the council's leader Fran Wilson and the head of planning Rob Jarman.

KCC leader Paul Carter was in the audience, but stressed he could speak only as "an aggrieved resident" and not as the leader of the council - because he had a vested interest with “1,000 homes being dumped at the end of my garden.”

The borough is currently carrying out a public consultation on its draft Local Plan, ahead of submitting to the Planning Inspectorate for approval.

The plan sets out the policies that will govern development in the town, including commercial development and gypsy site provision, but the most controversial aspect for most of the people in tonight’s audience was the ambition to provide for 18,560 new homes by 2031.

Speaker after speaker argued that the town didn’t have the infrastructure to cope with such an expansion, with one resident telling the borough’s head of planning Rob Jarman, that ”Noddy and Big Ears could have done better.”

Miss Newport said: "My frustration is that we are working under a planning system that inevitably leads to the generation of housing targets that are larger than they need to be."

Mr Horne said: "We (the parishes) have not been heard sufficiently."

Mr Thomas warned that if the current targets were adopted the situation would be worse next time. He said: "Come 2031, we will have to look for another 25,000 homes."

Mr Carter said he was impressed with the turnout and told residents: "We must get our forces together for the public inquiry."

Dr Driver suggested the plan would fail to pass inspection because "it will not meet the sustainability test."

But the Local Plan had its supporters. Two past leaders of the council, Cllr Chris Garland and Cllr Annabelle Blackmore, both spoke in support, as did Cllr Marion Ring, who urged the meeting to remember the 462 homeless people in the borough.

Cllr Garland said: "House prices are going through the roof and your children and your grandchildren will not get a home unless something is done."

Cllr Blackmore said the plan "allows us to protect substantial areas across the borough."

She urged people to get behind something "positive" - such as the construction of the Leeds/Langley Bypass, saying: "There are people in this room who can make that happen."

Cllr Ring said: "There isn't a day go by when I don't deal with cases of homelessness. Let's show a bit of sympathy."

The current council leader Fran Wilson thanked everyone for coming and said she had listened carefully to all the points raised.

Mr Jarman said: "The process isn't finished. By all means write in to the consultation and set out the constraints and we will robustly examine them."

The meeting concluded with a motion submitted by Independent Cllr Gordon Newton opposing the plan in its current form. The motion stated: "This public meeting believes that the number of homes advanced by Maidstone council has no credibility. We call upon the borough to apply realistic constraints to arrive at a viable target, and to include allowance for windfalls."

The motion was passed with the overwhelming support of the audience of approximately 350 people. Around half a dozen opposed the motion.

*The public consultation runs until March 17. To give your views on the plan, visit www.maidstone.gov.uk/consultation. Or call in at The Gateway in King Street, Maidstone.