Those living in a “once idyllic” village say their community has become a “dumping ground” for housing developments.

Teynham, which saw its population rise by just nine people in the decade up to 2011, has seen work start for 300 extra homes this year alone, with 380 more approved just outside the parish boundary.

Heather Whitehouse, a 68-year-old from Frognal Gardens, has lived in the Sittingbourne parish her whole life.

She said: “Teynham used to be a proper community, it was an idyllic village.

“There were rows of shops, shoe shops, butchers, grocers – it was known as Green Street.

“Everyone knew everyone. But now there are no shops and there isn’t even a GP anymore.

“There were orchards and hop gardens, it was brilliant here, but now it’s all gone.”

Blossom Grove is the latest housing development to be completed in the Teynham area.

The new estate of 130 homes, can be accessed off Station Road and was built on top of an orchard.

In May it was announced that work on an access road to another proposed development was due to start.

Housing developer Chartway Partnerships Group confirmed construction was set to begin off Frognal Lane after it received outline planning permission for 300 homes.

Then, a month later in June, another 380 homes on land near a business park close to the village were approved.

Swale council’s planning committee gave the green light for the properties to be built on land west of Church Road, in Tonge, by the Eurolink industrial estate in Sittingbourne.

The planned developments have left villagers angry.

David Steel moved to his home along Station Road two years ago after growing up in Upchurch.

The 58-year-old said: “It’s the same in all villages. No matter what village you’re in along the A2 London Road they’re all overwhelmed and overdeveloped.

“The people who buy these houses are not from the local area either so there isn’t a sense of community or people wanting to connect and get to know each other.”

Cllr Lloyd Bowen, who has lived in Station Road himself for many years, said: “Teynham has become a dumping ground for new housing developments.

“If you don’t live in Teynham and you drive through the village from Faversham to Sittingbourne you can still see that buffer between the village and the town.

“But we are now on the edge of crossing that buffer and losing our identity, community, and history. “

Heather, who was born and bred in the village and remained in the area her whole life, added: “I’m thinking of selling up for the first time in my life.

“I don’t want to be here, over the last few years it’s gone from bad to worse.”

Her friend, 72-year-old Pauline Duncan, who also lives in Frognal Gardens, agreed.

She added: “The air pollution here is also bad and the new housing developments will just see more cars coming here.

“Teynham Primary School is also set to double in size but that is to only deal with the current population of the village. What is it going to do when more houses are built and more families move in?.”

Elaine Wadhams, from Honeyball Walk, has lived in the village for 50 years.

The mum-of-three feels that there is now a “cloud over Teynham” with many villagers being “depressed”.

She said: “A black cloud has seemingly descended over Teynham recently, as so many villagers are sad and depressed. It could be the fact that yet another housing development has started.

“Teynham has always been a farming community; the first ever cherries in England were grown in Teynham in the 1600s during the time of Henry VIII.

“It's sad that yet another housing development is starting to take shape. An apple orchard just up the way from me was lost to housing just a couple of years ago.

“Now it's a rapeseed field that's gone, also a cornfield and sadly the community playing field, that has been a place of enjoyment for decades, including Sunday football, cricket, events for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers.

“Villagers feel the heart and soul is being ripped out of the village.”

Speaking on the newest estate planned there, Elaine added: “It’s there that an existing 40 houses have continual problems with sewerage overflow, and recently Southern Water was in attendance for days – how will the sewerage system cope with 380 more houses?

“The cloud over Teynham deepens, villagers are sad and cross.”

According to Census data, the village’s population stood at 2,904 in 2001, 2,913 in 2011, and had risen to 3,277 by 2021.

Conservative cllr Julien Speed has shared that one of his main concerns about the growing population of Teynham is the impact that new housing will have on traffic congestion and air quality in the area.

The Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council chairman said: “With the developments that have already been built locally, the pollution burden on residents is increasing markedly, flowing from worsening congestion.

“This situation simply must not be exacerbated further by yet more housing.

“According to research, each new home in the rural south east generates 1.76 additional vehicles. So if you build 100 houses and each vehicle makes two return journeys a day, that’s nearly 5,000 extra vehicle movements per week.

“According to modelling done by the Imperial College London, air pollution in Teynham is already way in excess of the limits recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).”

After appealing for feedback from those living in the village, KentOnline was inundated with comments from more than 50 people.

Linda Jones, who’s lived in the village with her family for almost 39 years, said: “It used to be so much different to what it is now. Sometimes I feel like I'm living on the M25.”

Jacquie Sharp, whose husband was born in Frognal Lane, said Teynham used to be a “lovely little village”.

“Slowly it's changing into a small town with all our orchards and fields being built on...”

She said: “I've lived in the village for 54 years.

“Slowly it's changing into a small town with all our orchards and fields being built on.

“Pollution is above safe levels and set to rise.

“Now there is news of a Roman statue that has been found where the new roundabout will be which no doubt will be covered over and built on. Such a shame”

This month a Roman statue of the sea god Triton was discovered on the housing development site near the A2.

Archaeologists discovered artefacts, including a mausoleum set to be buried beneath a roundabout, which are more than 1,700 years old.

Following the discovery, Dominic Cox, from Conyer, felt the same way as Ms Sharp.

He said: “There are constant water leaks and there are no GPs nor decent infrastructure in the village.

“Every time there is a problem on The M2 it leads to a gridlocked village and for me, the worst thing is that it’s okay for developers to build over such a large archaeological dig.

“They plan to build houses on what should be a tourist site that we can use to attract visitors and be proud of.”

However, the new developments aren’t an issue for everyone in the village.

Emily Stanley owns Crispin's Fish Bar, her family’s business, in London Road.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Chartham, near Canterbury, explained that she “can see both sides”.

She said: “I’ve worked with my family’s business since I was young and I get it, I get how the village has changed.

“The fish and chip shop opened in 1967 and I speak with my customers and regulars about how the village is changing.

“But from a business point of view, where we are still recovering from the pandemic, more people moving into the village has been nothing but positive.

“I can only welcome more customers, I’ve noticed a big increase in regulars from the new Blossom Grove estate.

“However, I wouldn’t say it’s a village anymore, that village vibe has gone but times change and people need to live somewhere.”

A spokesman for Swale council explained the government has set high housing targets for Swale and the number of developments stems from the current Local Plan which was adopted in 2017.

He said: “The government also does not require infrastructure to be in place before development starts and we have called for an infrastructure-first approach, but they haven’t made this a legal requirement.

“Despite this It is incredibly important to us to provide adequate infrastructure, such as schools and healthcare, when new housing developments are created.

“That is why we have a robust planning application process that consults with relevant organisations such as the NHS to identify new infrastructure needs for the community.

“Planning applications, including the developments in Teynham, can only be approved once the funding for necessary infrastructure enhancements have been secured through developer contributions (Section 106 agreements).”

When asked about why the housing developer is allowed to bury the newly discovered Roman mausoleum the spokesman confirmed the council always aims to preserve findings.

He added: “Swale has a rich heritage and we will always work towards preserving any new archaeological discoveries.

“When building on land that has important heritage value, such as the Roman sites in Teynham, we look to the advice of Historic England on preserving archaeological remains.

“This means when sites are discovered, they need to be excavated before construction begins or find a design that allows the remains to be retained beneath or adjacent to the new development.

“The development in Teynham will utilise both, with the preservation of some items, such as the statue, off-site and the other heritage assets being preserved under the new developments.”