A BATTLE over how to safeguard Kent in the face of hundreds of thousands of new homes being built has reached a crucial stage.

A four-week long public inquiry into the Kent and Medway Stucture Plan – KCC and Medway Council’s blueprint for development over the next two decades - has got underway at County Hall in Maidstone.

The inquiry into KCC’s blueprint for development is set to pitch planners, conservationists and environmentalists against developers on the key question of how green field land can be safeguarded against excessive development.

The inquiry will also focus on the controversial question of who should pay for extra roads, schools and other community facilities when homes are built.

Government targets envisage 116,000 homes being built in Kent by 2021, with both north Kent and Ashford earmarked for potentially huge growth.

KCC has included in its plan a controversial policy that would mean developers refused planning permission unless they first showed how the costs of infrastructure will be met.

Developers have made clear they oppose the policy and several were expected to attend the inquiry.

Builders believe it is an attempt to thwart them by making the costs of development too high. However, council leaders re-iterated their determination to protect “the Garden of England” against excessive development.

KCC leader Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart (Con) said: “The Structure Plan will set the future of the county for the next 20 years. The key issues of housing numbers and the protection of the countryside will be tested and challenged by both house builders and conservation groups.

"We are determined to stand our ground and get the right balance in achieving both regeneration that brings new jobs and our all important responsibility of protecting Kent’s countryside.”

Pierre Williams, of the National Housebuilders Federation, said: “The key question is whether Kent is trying to oppose an increase in house-building by putting forward this demand for massive infrastructure investment. The reality is that Kent, along with the rest of the south east, needs these homes but that most will be built on brownfield sites.”

In addition to housing, KCC’s policies on the environment, transport and flood protection will be put under the spotlight.

The inquiry’s conclusions, and any recommendations for changes to the plan, will be made at the end of the year.