Residents are to have their say on proposals for a 2,500-home ‘garden village’ at Bobbing, near Sittingbourne.

Developers Appin are consulting on plans to build the community - which could include a primary school, shops, pubs and offices - off the A2 and A249 around Demelza children’s hospice.

Called Foxchurch Garden Village, the site measures 201 hectares - the equivalent of 496 football pitches.

People are invited to take part in online question and answer sessions on Monday at 1pm and 7pm and Tuesday at 4pm and 7pm by visiting www.bobbingplans.uk.

Swale council member for Bobbing, Cllr Corrie Woodford (Swale Ind), stressed it was a very early stage in the planning process and no formal application had been submitted. She added: “It is completely understandable these will worry residents as what is being discussed is a very substantial development.

“From the initial ideas available, I can see no way in which I would support such a development. The location and infrastructure is simply not sufficient to even think about a development of that scale.”

Cllr Roger Clark (Con), who also represents the area, added: “I’ll be totally against these plans because our roads can’t take any more traffic.

“I’m not against all housing but it’s got to be done sensibly. It’s in the lap of the gods but Iwade has take such a hit over the last 10 years. There’s lots of other areas like Faversham and Borden all around which can take bigger hits.”

Cllr James Hunt (Con) echoed concerns about the impact on roads.

He said: “The biggest concern I have is the A249 and Junction 5 of the M2 where there are already big problems with infrastructure and traffic.

“The developer is going to have to bring a lot of mitigation in.”

However, he did warn residents the government could revoke Swale council’s ability to make planning decisions if it continues to miss its housing targets. Last year Swale was told to allocate 20% more land for development than is currently earmarked until 2024, after falling 294 homes short of its target - 776.

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