Rural Kent on the frontline of PM's battle to build

Sir Keir Starmer volition aboriginal unveil sweeping changes to the readying strategy that could spot councils forced to see gathering connected greenish loop onshore successful England.

The premier curate has vowed to override "blockers" lasting successful the mode of 1.5 cardinal caller homes helium says are needed to lick the lodging crisis.

But what happens erstwhile those "blockers" are elected councillors and section radical with genuine concerns?

One agrarian country of Kent is rapidly becoming a trial lawsuit for however determined the authorities is to unit done readying decisions successful the teeth of section opposition.

If you person the tummy for it, you tin ascent the constrictive crumbling chromatic spiral staircase to scope the extortion of St Nicholas' Church successful Rodmersham.

From the apical of the Norman religion you get a panoramic presumption of northbound Kent. Directly beneath determination is an pome orchard, beyond that fields of arable farmland with the occasional house, and successful the region the municipality of Sittingbourne, silhouettes of Thames Estuary dense manufacture disposable against the sky.

This is the onshore wherever Quinn Estates developers privation to physique 8,400 homes, caller schools and a caller road.

"It's an perfectly colossal development, it volition person a devastating interaction connected this area," says Monique Bonney.

She grew up successful Rodmersham and aft surviving and moving crossed the satellite returned to the village. She got joined successful St Nicholas' Church and has been an autarkic councillor for the country for 18 years.

She is not conscionable acrophobic astir the size of the caller improvement - Rodmersham is presently made up of 275 homes - but however overmuch volition beryllium affordable.

Only 760 homes, she says - astir 9% of the projected development. The developers accidental the level of affordable lodging volition beryllium decided astatine a aboriginal inquiry.

There is besides the question of the infrastructure. Bonney says the country has the worst GP-to-patient ratio successful the country.

New aesculapian facilities are see successful the improvement proposal, but Bonney is sceptical this volition happen.

"I deliberation my acquisition of 18 years of being an autarkic parish councillor and a territory councillor has demonstrated that the strategy has utterly failed and authorities is perfectly incompetent for trying to present infrastructure services to section people."

Chris Mitchell, landlord of the section Fruiterers Arms pub, is likewise opposed: "It volition nary longer beryllium a village, it volition conscionable beryllium different portion of a commute to London."

Bonney is not the lone councillor opposing the proposals - the section Labour-led assembly was connected the verge of voting to cull them.

But astatine the eleventh hr it was "called in" by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. This means the authorities volition instrumentality implicit the readying exertion alternatively than fto the section authorization decide.

"It seemed precise undemocratic," said section Green Party councillor Rich Lehmann.

"They [councillors] should person been capable to marque their decision, adjacent if it went to entreaty aft that determination was made."

Labour MP Kevin McKenna was 1 of astir 70 others who asked Rayner to intervene successful the decision.

He said: "I decidedly wanted it called in. This [decision] has been moving circular the houses. I wanted it decently assessed."

"Both the large parties pledged to chopped done these blockages to building, and Labour made it truly wide we were going to look astatine readying from the get-go."

This is the benignant of conflict the Labour authorities faces if it wants to conscionable the people it has acceptable itself.

After a two-month consultation, ministers volition acceptable retired the last mentation of changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The authorities says it will:

• Give councils mandatory targets to present 370,000 homes a twelvemonth successful England
• Prioritise brownfield sites – disused areas that person been developed successful the past – for caller buildings
• Provide £100m for councils and 300 further readying officers to velocity up the readying process
• Order councils to place little prime greenish loop onshore – oregon "grey belt" onshore which could beryllium built on.

The lodging caput said the authorities would "deliver the lodging and infrastructure successful a much co-ordinated way".

"In the past we haven't seen that. We've seen years of dither and delay, ineligible challenges."

Adam Hug from the Local Government Association said: "People cannot and bash not unrecorded successful readying permissions".

He said section authorities should beryllium fixed greater powers to unit developers to physique erstwhile they had secured readying permissions, alternatively than sitting connected the land.

Shadow lodging caput Kevin Hollinrake said: "Labour volition bulldoze done the concerns of section communities."

During the consultation phase, section councils told the government its housebuilding program was "unrealistic" and "impossible to achieve".

Not each locals successful and astir Rodmersham are opposed to the development.

Sittingbourne Football Club are flying precocious astatine the infinitesimal - 2nd successful the South East Division of the Isthmian league and connected an FA trophy run.

"We're 4 games distant from Wembley. Four," said nine president Maurice Dunk.

The nine is sponsored by Quinn Estates and would get a caller stadium if the plans spell ahead.

Dunk thinks the improvement is precisely what the country needs.

"The municipality is successful a spot of a state. We request the roads. Between Sittingbourne and Sheppey there's implicit 100,000 radical trying to usage 1 motorway junction.

"I admit the section radical don't privation the houses, cipher does, but the concern assemblage decidedly wants this to clasp jobs successful the country and hopefully grow jobs successful the area."

He is besides assured that the connection volition present "desperately needed" schools and GPs.

"We've got the worst doctor-to-patient ratio successful the full country."

He is blessed the improvement connection got called in: "I truly don't privation to beryllium disrespectful to our section council, but it mightiness beryllium excessively large for them to determine on."