Plans for a mini housing estate have been approved for a second time despite villagers’ fears it will ruin their privacy.

KLN Group Ltd's bid for up to 38 homes in Whitfield was green-lit by Dover District Council (DDC) in 2023 amid concerns of additional pressure on Archers Court Road.

Following the decision, DDC was told of a potential legal challenge with the original access route, but its planning committee has now approved the scheme again.

It follows a change in the road set-up which will see residents head through part of the Richmond Park development and onto the A256, instead of Archers Court Road.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr James Back (Con) was pleased to see the new approach added to outline plans.

He said: “This is my ward, and I did vote against the last application because of it going out onto Archers Court Road - Kent County Council thought it was okay but I didn’t.

“The A256 is, in my opinion, a win-win situation, keeping traffic away from Archers Court Road and the junction with Sandwich Road.

“Now that the access has been changed, I see no reason to refuse this application, and reserved matters will be dealt with at a later stage.”

The scheme for the almost 2.5-acre site will also provide 11 affordable houses, including one fit for disabled use.

Residents held fierce objections to the loss of more green space in Whitfield, registering 49 objections on Dover’s planning portal.

Under the Whitfield Urban Expansion, space has already been allocated for an additional 6,350 homes in the area.

At the meeting, Jeff Goodsell, chairman of Whitfield Parish Council, said: “This site simply cannot successfully accommodate 38 dwellings in an acceptable manner.

“The two-storey houses are out of character with the nearby residents, they're out of character with the nearby bungalows, and will have an overbearing and intrusive impact on nearby residents with a loss of privacy and feeling of oppression.

“Whitfield is destined to have 6,000 houses surrounding the village, so this development is an unacceptable loss of yet another of our green open areas, adding to its urbanisation, sensory closure and feeling of overcrowding.”

At the meeting it was pointed out that most concerns of residents were considerations for a detailed reserved matters application.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

However, Cllr Roger Knight (Con) sympathised with the views of the parish council.

He said: “I do somewhat side with the parish council and when it comes to reserved matters, we do need to look at that in depth.

“The size, the scale and design, if you live in Whitfield like I do, we’ve grown up with a certain landscape, but developers are getting away with all kinds of shapes and sizes which don’t fit the area.

“We’ve lost so much of our green belt, and if we’re going to lose anymore, then it needs to be done sympathetically with the neighbours.”

DDC unanimously approved the plans with nine votes in favour of the scheme.

KLN Group Ltd has been contacted for comment.