The fate of plans for 1,000 homes on the edge of a town has been taken out of a council’s hands because it took six years to make a decision.

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) insists a bid for Court Lodge in Kingsnorth should be scrapped as developers have not given enough detail.

But in February, applicant Hallam Land Management lodged a ‘non-determination’ appeal with the government’s Planning Inspectorate - essentially asking it to decide because ABC had not reached a decision.

The company had first submitted plans for homes off Pound Lane in 2018 but pollution issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury delayed the project.

Rules set down by Natural England in 2020 state developers must ensure all schemes in the River Stour catchment area are “nutrient neutral” to protect the internationally important nature reserve.

Developers either do this by having an on-site water treatment facility or offsetting the impact by providing mitigation measures elsewhere, such as wetlands.

Hallam submitted nutrient neutrality plans in April 2024, and again in October after Natural England asked for more details.

However, ABC, which is run by an Ashford Independents/Green Party coalition, had still yet to decide on the scheme, and was requesting further information.

Although the project will no longer be decided locally, ABC’s planning committee still met on Wednesday night to vote on what it would have done with the application if it still had the power.

Cllr Ray McGeever (Ash Ind) said Kingsnorth is being “overdeveloped”, but as he owns property nearby and has a vested interest, he did not take part in the vote or most of the debate.

“It seems quite clear that Hallam has not submitted sufficient evidence as required and has instead gone straight to the Planning Inspectorate to speed up the process and perhaps to minimise certain planning requirements,” he said.

The hulking development is intended to link up with the 5,750-home Chilmington Green estate and 550-home Kingsnorth Green.

The three developments between them are intended to form the 7,250-home South of Ashford ‘Garden Community’ under the council’s Local Plan to 2030.

But Cllr McGeever described at the meeting “a catalogue of failures by Hallam to address our local planning policies”.

The plans did not get a warm reception from others at the meeting either, with Cllr Katrina Giles (Green) saying “my residents are quite frustrated with the amount of traffic already on the roads”.

Kent County Council (KCC) - the highways authority - raised no objections to the plans, saying they would not have a significant impact on the road network, but declined to send a representative to the meeting.

But Cllr Linda Harman (Ash Ind), cabinet member for planning, took issue with Hallam not providing enough detail on highways and transport.

“We need this highways plan, and it’s missing,” she said.

“These are the reasons that we should be fighting our corner and refusing this application - it’s not good enough.”

However, this will not form one of the official reasons ABC will argue for refusal.

The committee voted unanimously to say it would have refused planning permission if it had the power.

This means ABC officers will argue to the Planning Inspectorate that permission should be refused due to insufficient detail being provided on flood risks, ecology and archaeology, and no legal agreement being reached around affordable housing numbers.

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Additionally, due mainly to issues linked to Stodmarsh, ABC cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of land for housing, meaning it is expected to look more favourably upon developments it would like to refuse.

This means there is a risk the Planning Inspectorate could approve the plans - which would also give ABC less input on affordable housing and funding for local services as a result of the development.

In initial documents submitted in 2018, Hallam said the scheme would be “a truly sustainable development” which would enhance the “economic prosperity of Ashford now and for future generations”.

The Planning Inspectorate will make the final call at an inquiry which could last up to 10 days, starting on July 29.