An advisor behind plans for an enormous 8,400 home development has been criticised for allegedly claiming a leading wildlife charity supports it.

Kent Wildlife Trust has been left “shocked and deeply concerned” after it was cited as a stakeholder for the Highsted Park development in Sittingbourne.

The project is part of a 12-week planning inquiry which opened on March 11.

Just hours after it started, the charity says it had apparently been engaged and the developer had been “working with Kent Wildlife Trust to create an educated landscape”.

But now, Kent Wildlife Trust, which was founded in 1958, has refuted any of those claims and “wants to set the record straight”.

It says the only time it has engaged with the development was to lodge formal objections in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

The trust’s planning and policy officer, Emma Waller, said: “We wish to be absolutely clear, Kent Wildlife Trust has had no engagement with the applicants regarding the Highsted Park proposals beyond submitting formal consultation responses objecting to both applications. Any assertion that we have been involved in shaping or supporting these plans is entirely false and misleading.”

Adding to their concern, the Trust are keen to highlight that Cromers Wood Nature Reserve, managed by Kent Wildlife Trust, has been included in some of the applicant’s materials, which it claims is an effort to “make the scheme appear greener”.

The Trust stresses the nature reserve is entirely separate from the proposed development and that the developer has neither sought nor obtained permission to include it in their illustrative materials.

Ms Waller added: “The inclusion of our name and our nature reserve in this way is wholly inappropriate and misleading. This could easily give decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public the incorrect impression that we support or have contributed to this development, when in fact we strongly oppose it.”

Reacting to the three claims made by KWT, Town Legal LLP, who represents the developer, wrote to the inquiry.

A formal letter detailed how evidence the charity referred to in its first claim, which was from Brian Sutherland said: “The scheme will ensure strong environmental protections and initial engagement with stakeholders, such as Natural England, Kent Wildlife Trust, The Woodland Trust and the Kent Downs AONB unit will ensure that the Highsted Park Masterplan is able to deliver a scheme which is not only sympathetic to existing habitats and wildlife areas, but also actively engages with these areas to provide significant environmental protection and ecological gains”.

The legal representative says this paragraph “clearly identifies an ambition of the masterplanning process” and didn’t state any engagement had been carried out.

During the inquiry, Mr Murdoch gave evidence during a masterplanner presentation on the first day where he referenced “working with Kent Wildlife Trust”.

Town Legal LLP wrote to the inquiry, saying: “This statement was said in the context of the aspiration of seeking to positively enhance the quarries’ landscape. We have since raised this with Mr Murdoch. He apologises if this reference was not clear; it was not intended to imply that the applicants were currently working with KWT or that they had endorsed these plans.”

Lastly, with reference to the Cromers Wood Nature Reserve, the representatives say KWT correctly state Cromers Woods is outside of the redline boundary of the application site.

They added: “As is stated a number of times in the applicants’ evidence Cromers Wood lies adjacent to the south-eastern part of the southern site.

“Cromers Wood is a key constraint on the southern site that has correctly been carefully considered throughout the schemes’ development and the schemes contain mitigation measures to seek to minimise any harm to the wood.

“Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that it is included on plans. To do otherwise would be misleading to the Inspector and Secretary of State.

Kent Wildlife Trust has called on the Planning Inspector to formally acknowledge that the Trust has not engaged with the applicant and that statements to the contrary are inaccurate, ensure this misrepresentation does not influence decision-making and recognise that the inclusion of Cromers Wood Nature Reserve in the applicant’s materials is misleading and does not imply any association with Kent Wildlife Trust.

The Planning Inspector has said it cannot comment on a live case but is aware of the charity’s concerns and letter, which has been added to the inquiry documents list.