Headcorn’s hopes of limiting new development in the village have hit the buffers.

The village has been working on its own Neighbourhood Plan to direct where housing should and should not go, but proposals have encountered delay after delay.

“It’s very frustrating,“ said parish clerk Caroline Carmichael, “We submitted all our paperwork to Maidstone council at the end of October, but we are still no farther ahead.”

Part of the Neighbourhood Plan process, before it can go to a referendum to seek public approval, is for it to be examined by an independent expert – to see if it conforms to district and national planning guidelines.

The borough appointed an examiner to look at the plans. She was supposed to produce her report on April 22.

When it arrived two weeks late, it was highly critical of the village’s plans, saying neighbourhood planning guidance had changed since the Headcorn committee had first begun work on the scheme, and it was not clear the plan still reflected current guidance.

Among the issues objected to was a proposal to limit new developments to no more than 30 units at a time.

The village also sought an embargo on new development until existing problems with the sewerage system had been fixed.

The village started preparations to fight its case at a public hearing, but then came the bombshell that the inspector had lost her accreditation with the Neighbourhood Planning Independent Examination Referral Service (NPIERS) and they would have to start all over again with a new examiner.

The borough offered three new names to choose from, and the parish picked one.

But this Tuesday, the council’s strategic planning and transportation committee ruled the village could not have the man they wanted because of a possible conflict of interest as he was also representing KCC in the Local Plan process.

A new examiner, Jeremy Edge, has been offered, but the parish has yet to hear back whether he is available to take on the work.

Mrs Carmichael said: “It could turn out to be a good thing. The new examiner may be more accepting of what we are trying to achieve.”