Residents who thought they had won a battle to prevent a large housing scheme of up to 440 homes being built around their local church have now to gear up for round two.

There was widespread jubilation in Otham last month when Maidstone council finally refused permission for the scheme on land to the west of Church Road, bordering the Grade 1 listed church of St Nicholas.

But now the developer, Bellway Homes, has lodged an appeal with the planning inspectorate.

The refusal by councillors went against the advice of their planning officers. Members were warned that if they lost at appeal, the council could end up paying Bellway's cost, which might be in the region of £100,000.

The refusal was based on the grounds of highway safety, with the backing of Kent County Council, the highways authority.

The appeal will be determined by a public inquiry chaired by Frances Mahoney, which will sit over six days, from November 24 to 26 and from December 1 to 3.

Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), the chairman of the planning committee, said the appeal would be a hard fight because the land was allocated for housing in the 2017 adopted Local Plan, but he said: "We will defend our decision vigorously."

Some 1,600 people signed a petition against the application.

All 433 written objections previously submitted by the public have been passed on to the planning inspector, but residents may be allowed to address the inquiry at the inspector's discretion.

Anyone seeking permission to do so, or seeking to submit further representations, should email: Kerr.Brown@planninginspectorate.gov.uk, quoting reference number APP/U2235/W/20/3254134.

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