A proposed 50-home retirement scheme in a village has been likened to a “prison” by people living nearby.

Plans for a two and three-storey complex with gym and club house in Cliffe Woods, Rochester, have sparked a wave of protest from residents.

One outraged man living near the scheme – which is earmarked for off View Road – has written to Medway Council saying: “It’s just plain ugly.”

Another said: “Enough is enough. Please do not let this area become another town.”

And somebody else commented that the loss of privacy would mean “losing an uninterrupted view across a field and reservoir, to be exchanged with the delightful sight of Mrs Biggins washing her undies”.

The applicant wants to build a two and three-storey block of apartments and single storey bungalows on 1.2 hectares of agricultural land south of View Road.

The plan also includes a manager’s office, parking spaces and garages.

One objector wrote: “It is a fenced compound, with grey buildings in blocks, a gym and gatehouse and access control barriers.

“I’ve seen similar developments (not from the inside, thankfully) and all were named with the prefix HMP.”

Other complaints included the poor road network, a burden on already over-stretched facilities and the density of the development.

Medway Council refused outline planning permission in November 2017, but following a successful appeal and visit from an inspector appointed by the Government, the application for detailed planning permission has now been submitted.

A date has not been set for consideration.

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