Hundreds of new homes on the outskirts of a village have been granted permission despite huge uproar from residents and two MPs.

The 225-home scheme on the edge of Cliffe Woods was rejected when plans were presented in 2017 and upheld by the government last year following an appeal by developers .

But plans for the project, which have been submitted three times before, off Town Road on the western side of the village near Strood have finally been given the go ahead.

Councillors raised concerns about the "car dependent development" and a lack of sustainable public transport provision, which then communities and housing secretary James Brokenshire highlighted when overturning a planning inspector's decision to allow the 2017 application .

Medway's planning committee heard developers Gladman, bus company Arriva and the council have since agreed a £575,000 investment as part of the application to run a shuttle bus for five years between Cliffe Woods and Strood station for commuters working in London.

Developers said this would reduce the reliance on the private car, the meeting heard.

Medway Council's head of planning Dave Harris also warned councillors that because the government had agreed with the development on every other principle relating to location, landscape, schools and health access, the only grounds they could reject the application was relating to transport.

He told members the authority had "no likelihood" of winning an appeal and would have cost taxpayers "an awful lot of money" after taking legal advice about defending a rejection on appeal.

Committee member and ward councillor Gary Etheridge (Con), who proposed a motion to vote against officers' recommendations for approval, argued the development was "not sustainable in any way".

The Strood Rural member said he felt the volume of documents submitted by the developers had "contrived to confuse".

He added: "It lacks every possible feasibility in terms of being sustainable – transport, schools, health and shops. Most of all, the information supplied by Gladman is so out of date and is no longer relevant."

Labour member for Strood North Cllr Stephen Hubbard seconded the motion to reject the application describing the plans as "just madness".

But committee vice-chairman Cllr Stuart Tranter (Con) warned "taxpayers will be footing the bill if we make a decision which stands no chance in law".

"We can debate schools, wildlife, agriculture, highways, employment. But those debates have been had and at a much higher level," he said.

"They've come up with a proposal to invest about half a million pounds for the shuttle bus to move that opportunity of domination from the car.

"I understand ward councillors are quite rightly representing the people in that village.

"I understand people in Cliffe Woods who live in a lovely area – but let's face it, was built in the 1970s in ancient woodland and on agricultural land – don't want it expanded further.

"I've not heard an argument that means I can turn down this application.

"Not because whether I like it or not but because of the law."

"We can debate schools, wildlife, agriculture, highways, employment. But those debates have been had and at a much higher level"

Committee chairman Cllr Diane Chambers (Con) said: "That public inquiry raked over many of the issues we considered unacceptable – health facilities and schools – that we rejected in 2017.

"The inspector did not support us in any of those. It was the Secretary of State calling it in and changing the decision but he did not support us in the issues we were concerned about.

"It only leaves us with sustainable transport.

"It's my view it would be extremely difficult to mount a rejection of this application based on one aspect."

After the motion to refuse development was rejected, members voted eight to three in favour of allowing the application.

Details relating to housing designs and layout are yet to be submitted.

More than 500 objections were received as developers Gladman applied for outline permission to build the development next to the adjacent Esquire site in the village.

Conservative MPs Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) and her colleague Adam Holloway (Gravesham) both supported residents in the objection.

Cllr Etheridge's fellow ward members – Cllr John Williams and Cllr Elizabeth Turpin (both Con) – argued on behalf of residents' concerns relating to schools, doctors and transport provision.

Cllr Williams objected to the proposals citing the loss of 10.9 hectares of "valuable productive agricultural land" which he said would "set a precedent for other developers" on rural and agricultural land.

Cllr Turpin said the "strain on local school places" would be made worse by the additional homes

The Cliffe Woods Academy Trust – which runs the village primary school – said during a consultation that £700,000 proposed would not go far enough to extend or build a new school.

"It lacks every possible feasibility in terms of being sustainable"

Cllr Martin Potter (Con) said he felt allowing the neighbouring Esquire development to go ahead was "in hindsight a mistake".

"We were assured the buffer between their development and this site would allow us to defend any applications on this piece of land," he added.

"But the reality is, by putting that on the western side of the road we broke the line of the village.

"We've perhaps got to be a bit stronger there because of the effect of the domino, if you like, later on."

He said he could see a "ribbon of development" taking place further along the western edge of Cliffe Woods.

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