Proposals for two traveller sites in the Weald have proved unpopular with residents.

An application has been lodged to create a home for two families on a plot of land in Headcorn.

The 0.4-acre site off Long Lane would provide parking for four vehicles, two static and two touring caravans if Maidstone Borough Council gives the go ahead.A water treatment works would also be built.

Headcorn Parish Council has opposed the plan on the grounds that it would have a negative visual impact on the countryside.

The authority states it has already fulfilled its commitment to traveller communities in its Neighbourhood Plan, adding there are vacant plots at The Meadows site on Lenham Road.

The Weald of Kent Protection Society also objects to the plan.

Staplehurst residents have also voiced their concerns about a similar development off Chart Hill Road.

Existing caravan site Chart Hill Paddock will house an additional five homes and a day room if the application is approved.

Objections have been made on the grounds of the site’s visual impact, risk of flooding and poor access.

The proposals come as it was revealed Maidstone has the lion's share of Kent's traveller sites, and the third largest amount in the UK.

At the last count there were 478 caravans pitched in the borough, 31% of all of those in the county. Of those, 72 were unauthorised.

Decisions on both sites are due in September. See bit.ly/charthill and bit.ly/longlane