Almost 1,000 new homes are planned for a plot of land on a key route into Maidstone.

The development, off Sutton Road at Langley, would see the village and others in the area engulfed by the town according to residents.

Countryside Properties Ltd' mammoth proposal would bring 950 homes, a supermarket, a doctor’s surgery and a school to the site – which is 4km from the town centre and bridges the gap between the Park Wood Industrial Estate and Langley Heath.

The outcome of a separate decision on whether the plot is to be included in Maidstone Borough Council’s draft Local Plan as suitable for 850 homes is due on Tuesday.

It comes as buyers continue to snap up homes at the nearby Langley Park development, where Taylor Wimpey is building up to 600 houses and flats, along with a primary school, which is due to open next year; shops; allotments and a nature reserve.

"It will be a very large stain on the council to allow it to be swallowed by Maidstone in permitting this development.” — Peter Williams, a Sutton Road resident

In recent years the area has been swamped by applications, many of which have been approved.

Planning permission has also been granted for 186 homes at Imperial Park and 100 homes near Bicknor Farm, while Jones Homes Southern Ltd also hope to construct 272 properties at the farm.

Countryside’s application is in the very early stages. DHA Planning has submitted an environmental assessment of the site to MBC.

It is now down to the developer to decide whether it wishes to pursue the project by lodging an outline application.

Peter Forknall, chairman of Chart Sutton Parish Council, said while it was early days, but added: “There’s already a lot of vehicles clogging up Sutton Road, where are all these extra cars going to go and how are they going to move?

“The site is also near a river and flooding is already a problem in Boughton Monchelsea. This development is going to amplify that.

“Nothing I heard when attending the public exhibition eased those concerns.”

A year ago Imperial Park, a Bellway Homes project, flooded causing a river of clay to cascade down Sutton Road, caking properties in orange sediment.

In an objection to Maidstone council Peter Williams, who lives opposite St Mary Church on Sutton Road, pleaded with the authority to consider the development’s visual impact.

He said: “Langley is a very old parish and should be allowed to remain so. It will be a very large stain on the council to allow it to be swallowed by Maidstone in permitting this development.”

The council is striving to create 18,560 new homes by 2031 but has only identified sites for 17,302.

Click here to view the application.