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A rural part of Kent is once again in the frame for a proposed massive house-building expansion - just four years since controversial plans for a garden village there were dropped.
Back in 2019, Marden was one of three areas touted for such proposals - along with Lidsing and Heathlands at Lenham.
But after storms of protest from residents - including a mass march through the village - Marden was dropped from the proposals in November 2020 and only Lidsing and Lenham made their way into Maidstone’s adopted Local Plan.
However, even though the Local Plan Review was only completed one year ago, it is already faltering.
The government requires local authorities to be able to show that they have a five-year housing supply - and at the last count, Maidstone could show only a 5.1 year land supply.
In real terms, it means over the next five years, the area is predicting to be only 132 homes over the target - so any further slippage would put the borough at risk of “planning by appeal” where it becomes almost impossible to refuse an application.
Progress with both the Lidsing and Heathlands developments is going slower than expected, and another large development - the redevelopment of the Invicta Park Barracks in the town centre for 1,300 homes - may not now go ahead at all with the government finding there is a renewed need to expand defence spending.
Amid the uncertainty, planning consultants DHA have said the borough should look again at Marden, where the land could be made quickly deliverable.
However, the talk is no longer of a “garden village” - but it’s argued what is being promoted is little different from the previous proposal.
The developer, Vistry, is talking of 1,750 homes instead of the original 2,000, but the development would also include a new school, doctors’ surgery, community centre, shops and employment land.
Vistry is paying for a planning performance agreement with the borough, a process that involves a series of meetings with officers and councillors to iron out any potential objections before a formal planning application is submitted.
DHA has carried out its own housing supply calculation and determined that if you cut out the Invicta Barracks contribution and others now looking uncertain, Maidstone actually has only a 4.48-year land supply.
It predicts, rather conveniently, that by the end of the plan period in 2038, the borough will have fallen short of its target by 1,750 homes.
The consultants argue that it would be better for the borough to agree a masterplan to release the land at Marden where appropriate community infrastructure improvements could be built in, including a new car park for Marden Station, rather than face a series of random applications elsewhere.
One change from the original garden village proposal is that Vistry is now proposing to set aside 33 hectares for “rewilding” on land north of the Stile Bridge pub to improve biodiversity.
The site proposed for the 1,750 home lies to the north of the village and wraps around Marden Cemetery, extending over 137 hectares of agricultural land.
Access would be from Maidstone Road and Underlyn Lane.
Maidstone is required to build 19,669 homes by 2038.
Claudine Russell is now the Conservative group leader on the borough council. She was first elected in 2021 after coming to prominence as one of the key figures in the Marden residents Planning Opposition Group that had campaigned against the garden village.
She said: “I am shocked and dismayed that this plan has resurfaced.
“Before being elected as a local councillor, I campaigned hard against this.
“Now just one year on from the Local Plan being adopted, we face it all again.
“This large site won’t affect just Marden; it will clog up the whole south of the borough with traffic and pollution.”
Mike Summersgill is a Green party councillor for Marden and also a cabinet member for the borough.
He said: “It is disappointing. A lot of us worked very hard to ensure this site wasn’t in the Local Plan - I’m sure there will be cross-party opposition to it.”
“But if we miss the five-year land supply, there will be scope for developers to reintroduce their plans - not just in Marden, but potentially across the borough.”
Cllr Summersgill was also unhappy that the re-wilding scheme was being touted as a plus for the garden village.
He said: “They are trying to include it within the Marden plans, but is actually not in the ward.
“It comes under Loose and Linton.”
Lottie Parfitt (Con) is the KCC councillor for the Rural South Division, which includes Marden, and she also lives in the village.
She said: “I’m so upset that we face this proposal again. Marden has already taken far too many houses, as have all the surrounding villages.
“Why should we have a huge number being foisted on us again?
“The Local Plan was put in place to guard against this.”
Leader of Maidstone council Stuart Jeffery (Green) also spoke of his frustrations.
He said: “It’s clearly outside the Local Plan.
“It’s not unexpected as clearly the developers were very committed to it, but I am not sure why they are bothering.
“It’s just a speculative move that isn’t needed.
“We’ve got enough homes already. We’ve got a brand new plan. Why on earth would we want more?”
