Almost 100 homes will be built in a village as two housing estates have been green-lit.
Plans for new houses in Eastchurch have been approved by a planning inspector and by Swale council in a double blow for village objectors – including a former MP.
On Thursday (February 6) the authority’s planning committee approved Chartway Partnership Group’s scheme for 32 affordable homes near the village hall off Warden Road.
At the moment there are just 850 homes in the village.
Cllr Mike Brown, vice chairman of Eastchurch Parish Council, said while the authority is not opposed to affordable homes the development site was “totally unsuitable”.
He said: “We recognise the need for it [affordable homes] on Sheppey but a green field site distant from amenities is not viable and not the best place for the residents.”
Cllr Brown also said the main access road for the new estate, Lower Road, is already “overstretched” and set to get worse with housebuilding in Minster.
Meanwhile, Cllr Tara Noe (Cons), who represents Sheppey East on Swale council, says putting the entrance to the new homes on Warden Road was putting people in “danger” even with the 70mph speed limit being reduced.
As part of the plans, the 30mph speed limit will be extended out of the village just beyond a property called The Nest.
Cllr Noe said: “It is at a bad location, on a poorly lit hill, metres from a bend you cannot see around.
“If even one person comes around the corner too fast someone standing to the side is going to be in danger.
“How can new residents go to the very few shops safely.”
However, Cllr Tony Winkless (Lab), who represents Milton Regis and voted for the plans, said that reducing the speed of a portion of the road to 30mph will “slow people down.”
The committee voted in favour of the plans with 14 councillors being for it and two against it.
Julian Moat, Chartway Partnerships Group’s planning director, said after the meeting that the development “aligns with local needs” thanks to the affordable homes.
The developer had originally wanted to build 42 homes but that was knocked down to 36 and then 32 so that there could be more open space within the estate.
Meanwhile, Steve Nunn, Moat Homes’s executive director of growth – which will be managing the homes once built – said: “We’re really pleased to reach this milestone.
“It’s an important step in our efforts to provide more affordable rented homes in Swale, and we look forward to helping create a welcoming community in Eastchurch.”
The decision comes after a 63-home controversial housing development off of Lower Road in Eastchurch had been approved by a planning inspector.
Swale council had deferred its decision last March so that councillors could visit the site.
Then in June, it knocked back developer New Homes & Land’s plans because the new builds would impact stretched local services and infrastructure, as well as the character and appearance of the village.
Eastchurch Parish Council also objected to this scheme over fears of “urbanisation” of the village.
It said it would be “catastrophic to the landscape” and would lead to the “destruction of the very openness that tourism and residents value”.
There were also 55 letters from people living in the area who did not want the homes built.
This included an objection from former Tory Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson who lives in the village.
He said: “It will increase pressure on the already stretched health, education and roads infrastructure not only in Eastchurch but also the other communities in East Sheppey.”
Despite this, the developer appealed the council’s decision saying it had not brought forward any “compelling evidence suggesting that the appeal proposals are inappropriate”.
It also pointed to the area’s shortfall in house building which stands at around 2,000 homes.
The inspector sided with the developer and signed off the plans on Thursday, January 16.
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