A charity that promotes the preservation of a town says an application for thousands of new homes in the area will put a strain on services.

The Sittingbourne Society is urging Swale council’s planning committee to reject plans for Bobbing Garden Village, a 2,500-property development called Foxchurch.

The application, which was validated by planning officers last week, includes designs for a new sports hub, pub, community facilities, shops, public open spaces and children’s play areas on fields around Demelza children’s hospice.

In a letter to the planning officer, Sittingbourne Society vice-chairman, Malcolm Moore, said: “Although the application relates to the development of land outside the society’s area of benefit, the deleterious effects on the town of Sittingbourne will be so great that we must object to the application.

“We do not believe that this high number of houses is required to meet the housing needs of the people of Sittingbourne.

“The houses will almost certainly be occupied by people moving in from large regions elsewhere in the southeast and further afield.

“This would therefore be virtually a new town development scheme with none of the advantages enjoyed by such schemes.”

Appin Land and Development, the firm behind the project, has announced it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Warwickshire “land promotion” giants Catesby Estates on the scheme.

In the company’s summary it says the proposed development will fulfil the vision for a new urban extension to Sittingbourne.

It reads: “The development will create an exciting residential area, in what is already recognised as a desirable place to live. It is supported by a new high-quality business park, excellent wide-ranging new and existing amenities, and access to public transport.

“The proposals are entirely suitable for the site in terms of land use, amount of development, access, layout and appearance.

“It represents the next logical and sustainable stage in the long history of the development of the area.”

However, the Sittingbourne Society disagrees.

Mr Moore continued: “The very high numbers of new residents would place excessive strains on local services which are already under stress.

“Local health services for example cannot cope with the existing numbers, and schools are already having to be enlarged.

“The effect of development on this scale could be extensive to local water resources and to the ecology of the area.

“We are unaware of any agreement by the water authorities to provide the necessary infrastructure and finance to meet the needs of this development.

“They already have problems meeting existing needs and Southern Water have said repeatedly that they cannot meet additional demands on the water and sewage treatment systems.”

The charity also fears the development will cause traffic chaos.

Mr Moore added: “The high number of new residents will generate considerable traffic streams to and from the centre of Sittingbourne, overloading the local road system which will lead to additional traffic casualties and cause excessive air pollution.

“The development would also result in the loss of valuable productive agricultural land and would destroy the rural character of this attractive area of north Kent. Farmland such as this will be vital to feed future growing populations and should not be despoiled in this way.”

To view and comment on the plans click here and enter 22/503654/EIOUT.

In June 2020 the Foxchurch Garden Village plans were the subject of a virtual public consultation.

During the online question and answer sessions, Appin said it planned to create 180 acres of green space.

The spokesman also revealed construction could begin in 2024, with between 150 and 250 houses being built each year. The council is expected to decide on the application by March 2.