A MULTI-MILLION pound plan to build up to 650 homes and a new primary school on farmland near Maidstone Hospital has been revealed.

The estimated £115million scheme would transform a 48-hectare greenfield site off Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, straddling the border with Tonbridge and Malling.

Croudace Ltd has owned most of the proposed development site since 1985, with an agreement to buy adjoining orchards should planning permission be granted.

It is the latest in a series of massive projects unveiled for the Maidstone area.

Two weeks ago, we revealed proposals for a £500million university, hospital and business park proposal on the site of the Newnham Court shopping village off junction seven of the M20.

And only last month, Royal British Legion Industries Ltd revealed its plans for 300 new homes at Preston Hall and the Royal British Legion Village, Aylesford.

The latest scheme is the second attempt by Caterham-based Croudace Ltd to develop the Hermitage Lane site. In 2001, plans for 380 homes and a country park were rejected at appeal.

However, the planning inspector said future development was inevitable once borough-wide brownfield sites dwindled.

The scheme sets aside about half the site as a country park, with cycle paths and tracks linking neighbouring Allington with Barming rail station, where workshop units and an extended car park are also mooted.

But this time the number of homes has doubled to meet higher density rates expected under government planning guidelines for the South East.

All would be within Maidstone borough with the country park falling within Tonbridge and Malling control.

The scheme would offer a mixture of one to five-bedroom homes with a focus on meeting what the developer claims is a shortage in the Maidstone area of family-style accommodation.

A significant number would be offered for rent or shared ownership and key worker housing for hospital staff is also planned.

A covered reservoir would remain as open space with wooded areas around the development site retained to limit the impact on nearby homes.

Traffic would enter the site from a new roundabout off Hermitage Lane. Two bungalows, which the developer already owns in Howard Drive, Allington, would be demolished to create a second link.