A major public meeting has been called over plans to build 5,000 houses in the countryside near a historic village.

Coinciding with the general election when rural development is bound to be an issue, the event takes place on June 27 to discuss Heathlands Garden Village at Lenham near Maidstone.

It has been organised by campaign group Save Our Heathlands (SOHL) and former Conservative MP and parliamentary candidate Helen Whately has been invited.

Conservative county councillor Shellina Prendergast and a representative of Maidstone council have also been invited to attend.

Lenham Parish Council chairman John Britt, a vocal opponent to the Maidstone council-led scheme, has already agreed to speak.

The scheme’s chances of success have been dealt a blow since the council’s political leadership changed from Conservative to a Green Party/Liberal Democrat alliance.

The former was in favour of the council/Homes England proposal at Lenham Heath, where the council was the ‘master developer’. The new administration has voiced deep concerns about its viability.

Lenham Heath and another 2,000-home development at Lidsing, on the Medway/Maidstone border, are currently under challenge in the High Court by opponents awaiting decisions of whether they can be judicially reviewed.

Asked if the Lenham Heath scheme was doomed, the council’s Lib Dem deputy leader, Cllr Clive English, said: “I wouldn’t want to say that and I would rather go through due process. I would rather that was followed because we could be laying ourselves open if we don’t do that.

“My position on Lenham hasn’t changed.”

The public meeting will be held at the community centre in Groom Way from 7.30pm to 9pm.

Cllr Britt said: “It will be an interesting meeting. There are still so many unanswered questions.

“For instance, we don’t know how long the courts will take to decide on whether the judicial review will be granted.

“Plus a lot of the official bodies are on hold until after the general election.”

Mrs Whately opposed the Lenham housing scheme when it was first proposed but local critics say “she went a bit quiet on the issue” when she became a government social care minister.

One local observer said: “Helen was great at the beginning. But in government she had to obey collective responsibility and that’s the deal.

“The last Conservative government was in favour of building lots of houses in the south-east, places like Lenham, so maybe it was hard for her to take the same stance. Anyway, it will be great if she decides to come along to the meeting.”

Mrs Whately was approached for a comment.

Her Faversham and Mid Kent seat was once regarded as one of the safest in the county with a majority of almost 22,000 in 2019.

Pollsters at Electoral Calculus now predict the seat could narrowly go to Labour’s Mel Dawkins. Reform UK’s Maxwell Harrison, who could take nearly 12% of the vote, which may be a key factor in deciding Mrs Whately’s fate.

The candidates for the Faversham and Mid Kent seat are: Mel Dawkins (Labour); Maxwell Harrison (Reform UK); Hannah Perkin (Lib Dems); Lawrence Rustem (British Democrat); Hannah Temple (Green Party) and Helen Whately (Conservative).