Two sets of plans have been submitted so a football club can move to a new ground and clubhouse, with affordable homes to be built on the pitches it’s leaving behind.
Larkfield & New Hythe Football Club say the new facilities for the area will be “fantastic,” and the homes are an essential part of the plan to allow them to get the new grounds.
The team wants to relocate from its base of more than 60 years, just off New Hythe Lane in Larkfield, which is now earmarked to become an estate of affordable housing.
It hopes to move to new grounds at the former Oast Park Golf Club off Castle Way just outside Snodland, with up to 150 new homes built alongside.
Football club chairman John Michel told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This has been in the works for about two years. Originally we put in the applications to try to sell our land that we own here and find a new location.”
Developers Obee Estates had recently purchased the site of the former golf club and agreed to also purchase the teams’ current ground for housing.
Mr Michel continued: “The football side of the new Oast Park, the stadium and all of that, is basically fully funded by the sale of the land at Larkfield & New Hythe.
“That funds the whole thing and the developers are building it for us. Without that, the new facility couldn’t be built.
“We really are desperate for training facilities.
“We’ve had loads of games cancelled as we’ve got grass pitches at the moment and with the frost and the rain, games are being called off all the time. We really need a 3G pitch.
“The fact we’re going to have a fantastic sports club in this local area is an amazing thing.”
Planning applications for both developments have officially been submitted to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council (TMBC).
In documents submitted to TMBC in December to build up to 50 affordable homes on the New Hythe Lane plot, Obee Estates wrote: “This site has been the home ground for Larkfield & New Hythe Football Club since 1961, hosting over 30 teams, including women and juniors.
“In the last two years, Larkfield FC has been promoted up by two divisions, recently getting promoted to the SCEFL Premier Division in May 2024.”
They added that the pitch is “prone to getting waterlogged”.
As an outline planning application, the specific designs of the homes will be decided through later applications, but they write that “the buildings will feature a simple built form and appropriate detailing that complements the local vernacular”.
However, some aren’t keen on the bid, with one objector writing to the council: “This is ridiculous – adding 50 houses-worth of traffic to an overstretched area and through a children’s play park isn’t safe.
“The wild area to the back of the football ground is a haven for animals and dogs on walks.
“The existing football ground could be knocked down and the park extended or turned into a nature reserve.”
Alongside the bid for homes at the team’s current ground, Obee put in a separate application for entirely new sporting facilities at the former Oast Park Golf Course in Snodland.
The 50-acre site used to be an 18-hole golf course until it was shut in 2017, and is only 1.2km from the football club’s current home.
The developers write: “The site is within the Kent Downs National Landscape (AONB) and is located within a low-lying part of the Medway Valley landscape area.”
That application is for full permission for two new 3G football pitches, a clubhouse and stands with capacity for 250 spectators.
Additionally, outline permission is being sought for up to 150 homes to be sold at market rates, a golf driving range and padel tennis courts.
Responding to the Oast Park application, one resident wrote to TMBC: “I object to any form of new housing estates within and around Snodland.
“Too many developments in the area have been built or in planning yet no consideration is given to the roads, schools, doctors, dentists etc.
“These extra developments will ultimately devalue our properties.”
The village of Birling is next to the Oast Park development. Birling Parish Council held an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday (February 4) and agreed to formally object, writing: “While we recognise the potential benefits of the application concerning the sports facilities, we have significant concerns regarding its impact on our community, the environment, and infrastructure.”
Mr Michel explained that the team won’t be relocating imminently, though.
He said: “Because we own the ground, until the new facility is basically ready we won’t be moving.
“In the past, clubs have sold their ground without having anywhere to go, but I’ve signed a contract with the developers where we don’t move at all until we can move into the new facility.
“Ideally, we get full planning for both sites by the end of this year, then the new stadium is built first taking about six months, then we’ll move out at that point.
“We’ll have at least until the end of that season playing at Larkfield & New Hythe and then hopefully we’ll be able to move to that new purpose-built stadium.”
It is not yet known when TMBC’s planning committee will decide on the applications.
You can view and comment on the plans on TMBC’s website. For the New Hythe Lane application, search for reference 24/02074/PA. For the A228 Castle Way development, look for reference 24/02078/PA.
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