A housing developer has submitted a second application for the same plot of land - just in case its first proposal fails.

Martin Ferguson for Chailey Homes said the company was “keeping its options open.”

The firm submitted outline plans to build 62 homes on land off the Postley Road extension at Tovil last year, to the dismay of many local residents.

The open field below Richmond Way is on the edge of the Loose Valley Conservation Area and close to the Hayle Park Nature Reserve.

The council’s planning scrutiny committee recommended the site be dropped from the list of potential housing allocations in the borough’s draft Local Plan, but in February the cabinet nevertheless voted to include it.

Now the company has submitted a much reduced outline application for just four semi-detached homes in the north-east corner of the plot, replacing the existing bungalow on the site known as The Lodge.

However, South Ward Cllr Ian Chittenden (Lib Dem) said the new application was no more acceptable than the first.

He said: “The proposed access remains very narrow, and there are issues with a footpath alongside the plot that the access would cross.”

Cllr Chittenden said there were also concerns that the company was just “getting its foot in the door.” He said: “They may think that with only four houses they can get an application passed with a narrower access. But later, once the access exists, they could seek to build more homes behind them.”

The firm’s submitted drawings also show the access taking part of the green public play area at the foot of Richmond Way, that is owned currently by Maidstone council, but which the borough has agreed to transfer to the North Loose Residents Association on a long lease.

Sean Carter from NLRA said the residents’ group had already objected. He said: “The homes will effectively be three storeys and will overlook the bungalows in Richmond Way behind. The access is too narrow and at least part of this site must be regarded as greenfield land.

“This would just be further urban sprawl into the countryside with no significant benefit to the housing targets.”

The application has been “called in” by Cllr Derek Mortimer (Lib Dem) and so will be determined by the council’s planning committee rather than by council officers.

The new application is planning number is 15/501069.

The existing application is 13/2038