Proposals for thousands of homes as part of a new garden village have moved forward in the face of stiff opposition.

Sevenoaks council is described as having a “chronic and acute” need for new housing and is under pressure from the government to meet targets imposed upon it.

But with 93% of the district designated as green belt land it faces an uphill battle to progress plans for new homes.

As part of its local plan the local authority is proposing to build more than 10,000 homes over the next 15 years.

One of its major proposals to meet housing targets is for a 2,500 home garden village at Pedham Place, near junction 3 of the M25 – although Sevenoaks council says no final decision has been made on any site.

Currently hosting a golf course and land used for boot sales, the plan says the green belt site has the “potential scale to accommodate a sustainable settlement”.

National Highways previously responded to the district council’s consultation saying the plans were based on the assumption of roadworks and changes to the M25 which may never happen.

A consultation on the proposals closed on January 11 with councillors meeting yesterday (March 26) to discuss the results and next steps.

However, residents from the surrounding villages of Farningham, Eynsford, and Crockenhill are up in arms at the location being earmarked for development.

Last night, more than 50 villagers braved the rain to gather outside a Sevenoaks council meeting discussing the plans to voice their disapproval as part of the Save the Green Belt Together campaign.

“I think the site is utterly ridiculous and it depends on people having access to a car, that’s unrealistic both at present and in the future,” said Farningham resident Ian Gray.

Kevin McGeogh echoed similar sentiments. He said: “It’s the green belt, it’s a natural landscape, we’re all passionate about it, everyone loves it – it’s for our children we need to protect it.

“We don’t want homes. We’re begging SDC to do the right thing, don’t put Pedham Place in the local plan and save the green belt for future generations,” he added.

In the local plan consultation, several options for meeting the leafy area’s housing targets were proposed, one of which suggested building around the district and scrapping the Pedham Place plan entirely.

In total, 5,300 people responded to the consultation, out of about 120,000 eligible people in the district in total.

One-third of respondents backed a new settlement at Pedham Place – although the validity of the survey was questioned by some.

The leader of Kent County Council Cllr Roger Gough (Con) has also weighed in on the plans.

He is county councillor for Sevenoaks North & Darent Valley – where Pedham Place would be.

“This is something which above all has a big impact on a number of the communities that I represent,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

“There are always arguments for development but equally there are some very very powerful arguments against.”

Rugby giants Wasps have previously expressed an interest in building a 28,000-seater stadium, training ground and hotel nearby – just across the M25 from Pedham Place golf course.

But Cllr Gough added: “It’s hard to see how that works out”.

He thinks that the authority should instead build around the district and leave our the plans for a new village.

“I don’t think this is overall a NIMBY position, I personally believe that Sevenoaks council has a difficult job to do in this,” he explained.

“There are big housing pressures – there are still expectations of producing a significant amount of housing but it has to be done in a way that can actually work.”

In October last year, Sevenoaks council unveiled its reworked local plan – as its previous one in 2020 was rejected by the government.

Local councils periodically need to produce “local plans” – which allocate sites for housing and commercial development in their areas over the course of many years.

Councils which don’t have local plans and miss central government housing targets can be forced to accept development in places which they would otherwise like to refuse.

The district council now has time to rework proposals in line with the feedback ahead of publishing a final draft in the spring or summer.

It’s anticipated the final plan will be submitted sometime later this year.

A council spokesman said: “The next version of the local plan will be informed by residents’ views on the potential sites for new development as well as the issues, topics and concerns raised by our residents and other consultees during the consultation, together with further evidence relating to highways and flooding.

“At this time, no decisions have been made on the sites that will be include in the next version of the plan.

“Our development and conservation advisory committee, then our cabinet, will consider the revised local plan in July.

“The revised plan will then be published in late summer for consultation when the public can have another say.”