Opposition is mounting to a bid to create a 2,500-home "garden village" in the countryside.

Appin Land and Development, working in conjunction with Catesby Estates, has submitted a planning application to Swale council to develop 500 acres of farmland to the west of Bobbing village and the A249, and to the north of the A2.

But the huge development has raised hackles among local residents who held a meeting at the Long Hop pub in Key Street to discuss how best to oppose the scheme.

It was attended by around 25 people who decided to set up an opposition group – the name is yet to be decided – and to seek to recruit volunteers to delve through the acres of paperwork expected to be submitted as the application progresses.

Cllr Mike Baldock (Swale Independents Alliance) is the KCC councillor for the area, and he attended the meeting.

He said: "People are very concerned for a whole lot of reasons.

"Firstly, it will use good agricultural land – Swale has some of the best in the county – while the country needs to feed itself.

"Then there are worries over the infrastructure.

"We already have one of the worst GP/patient ratios in the country; there are insufficient secondary school places, and our local road network is totally congested."

Cllr Baldock added: "Additionally there's the fact that this whole new community would be built in what is now open countryside - the landscape impact would be enormous."

Rock Wood, an area of ancient woodland, also lies within the site boundary

Details of the proposal can be viewed on the Swale council website, under application number 22/503654

The developers say the new village, 2km from Sittingbourne, would include a doctors' surgery and a primary school, as well as a 4.2 hectare sports hub, shops and a pub.

There would also be a five-hectare business park.

Michelle Hextall is one of the residents opposing the scheme. In a Facebook post, she said: "This will not only have a negative effect on Bobbing and Iwade, but also on Lower Halstow, Newington and Upchurch.

"We need all the parishes to work together against such a huge development that this area absolutely cannot cope with."

Cllr Baldock estimated that with such a huge proposal it could be 18 months before the application was decided by the council.

He said it was "awfully important" residents opposed to the plan made their opinions known to the council at every stage.

Mrs Hextall said: "In the early stages we can put in views or comments about the general plans and in later submissions we can focus on what they’re not doing right for example ecology reports, highway changes that haven’t been considered, environmental factors.

"As with any planning application of this size there will be hundreds of documents to trawl through over the next year or so.

"What we need are volunteers who perhaps have a specialism or an interest in the certain areas/categories to take on the function of looking out for the related documents on the planning portal and informing the steering committee of anything that needs raising or objecting to."

The list of topics includes highways, heritage impact, landscape impact, biodiversity and ecology, water and drainage, footpaths, archaeological impact, air quality management and infrastructure.

The group also need volunteers to become treasurer and chairman.

Anyone interested can go to the group's next meeting at the Long Hop at 7pm Monday, January 30.