A residents’ group battling an unwelcome planning application has been given bad news.

The outline scheme for 120 homes at Bassetts Farm in Horsmonden will be going before Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) planning committee this week with a recommendation from officers for approval.

The Bassetts Farm Forum is a group of residents campaigning against the scheme which would cover almost 16 hectares of agricultural land.

They say that together with several other recent applications, it will mean an expansion of the village by almost half - and they argue that local infrastructure won’t be able to cope.

The forum also says the application does not adhere to the village’s adopted Neighbourhood Plan.

But planning officers say that “in the absence of a five-year supply of housing, the housing supply policies are out-of-date”.

Therefore, they say, permission for sustainable development must be granted unless there are specific policies in the national guidelines that it contravenes.

They say the proposals would deliver land set aside for a new medical centre and for allotments, and would provide 48 affordable homes and achieve a bio-diversity net gain of between 15 to 30%.

In addition, the developers, Persimmon, were promising “significant” areas of public open space within the site measuring 6.23 hectares, plus enhanced pedestrian access to Back Lane and additional footpaths connecting to the Public Rights of Way network.

Traffic generation would be less than “severe” and the site is within walking distance of the village centre and a bus route.

Although the new homes would add to the pressure on local services, this would be mitigated by payments secured from the developer through a Section 106 agreement, legally binding agreements that ensure certain extra works related to a development are undertaken.

These would include: £168,000 to the NHS; £124,056 to the NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board; £649,528 to KCC for primary school education and another £670,462 for secondary education; £604,543 to KCC towards the purchase of more school land; £67,179 to KCC for special education needs and disabilities; £4,105 to KCC for community learning; £8,886 to KCC for children’s services; £7,515 to KCC for libraries; £21,705 to KCC for adult social care; £23,295 to KCC for waste and recycling facilities; £948 to KCC to monitor a travel plan to encourage use of sustainable transport by the new residents; £5,000 to KCC to upgrade the footpath from Back Lane; and £2,000 to TWBC for signage and interpretation material as part of the Hop Pickers Line Way Marking and Interpretation scheme.

In total, the payments amount to £2,189,226, which equates to £18,243.55 per dwelling.

However, planning permission is granted not by officers but by the councillors sitting on the planning committee and they do not have to agree with officers’ recommendations.

There have been 261 letters of objection against the development, and the Bassetts Farm Forum is hoping there will be a good turnout of objectors at the planning committee, which is being held at the council chamber at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall tomorrow (Wednesday, April 2) starting at 6.30pm.

Andy Winser, a spokesman for the forum said: “We expect villagers there will be there to show their concerns.”

However, not everyone in the Horsmonden area is upset by the plan.

Eddie Lloyd, 81, has lived in Horsmonden for more than 70 years. He said: “Compared with Marden, Staplehurst, Paddock Wood and other villages around us, Horsmonden has escaped a lot of growth. So it is only fair that we should shoulder some of it, as Brenchley and Matfield should too.

“A lot of us older ones would love the village to stay exactly as it was years ago, but the population is growing, more marriages break up, people want their own space, there’s more immigration - all these things mean more houses have to be built.

“The Bassets Farm development will help tidy up an area that has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that it has become embarrassing to go for a walk with visitors near there.

“Won't it look better as houses than it has looked these last few years as an overgrown mess with sheds falling down and a haven for rats and vermin?”

But Mr Winser said: “Mr Lloyd is confusing the current application site - which is entirely greenfield orchards - with a separate brownfield site to the south, which has already been given planning permission and is currently being developed.”

A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes South East said: “Tunbridge Wells is an area with high housing needs and significant affordability challenges. These affordability challenges are even more acute in Horsmonden.

“Our application would make a significant contribution and help meet this local need with 120 zero-carbon ready homes, including 48 homes for affordable rent and shared ownership.

“This site is allocated for development in Tunbridge Wells emerging local plan and will help ensure the housing needs of the area are met in a careful and considered way.

“We have made a number of changes to our scheme, including reducing the number of homes on site, to ensure our scheme is a sustainable development and we are pleased that the planning officers are now recommending it for approval.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

Details of the Persimmon application can be found on the Tunbridge Wells council website, under application reference number 24/00078.