A borough council had a "gun against its head" to accept the use of a local site - by the Government - for controversial plans to build more than 400 homes in a village, a councillor said.

Cllr Tony Harwood (Lib Dem) said Maidstone council would not be able to "play to the gallery" despite more than 400 objections made against a proposal to build 440 homes in Otham.

Speaking of a Government planning inspector's decision to recommend using the Otham site for housing development more than three years ago, the North Maidstone councillor said: "We did have a gun against our head and if we hadn't signed it off, we would have had 'free for all'."

More than a dozen protestors descended on Maidstone Town Hall last night as Bellway Homes' application was scrutinised for over 60 minutes by the local authority's 11-person planning committee .

The chairman of the planning committee, Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem), said he was not minded to grant or refuse the application despite the "overwhelming public interest" and elected members voted to defer it.

The Church Road site is largely arable land but has been contentiously included in Maidstone council's 2016 Local Plan, by the Government's Planning Inspector, who told the council that 440 houses could be built on the site.

Major concerns continue to be raised about the proposed development's impact on traffic for neighbouring housing estates, such as Spot Lane and Willington Street, Maidstone.

Fears have also been expressed about the proposals' encroachment on two existing church estates and neighbouring ancient woodland site.

Kent County Council's highways team were among the key objectors to the proposal, which was submitted earlier this year, while hundreds of residents have also opposed it.

Chapman Avenue Residents Association chairman, David Hatcher, described the 440-homes plan as "appalling" while another resident, Sue Skipp, said the proposal was "bad planning all round."

Ward councillor Gordon Newton (Ind) said one of the neighbouring churches, St Nicholas, was built in 1086 and the development would see the "destruction" of the Grade I listed building, comparing it to a "criminal act".

The chairman of Downswood Parish Council, Martin Weeks, said: "It's stupidity to allow this development to proceed."

However, a spokesman for Bellway Homes told the committee that the housing firm will make improvements to a key road junction in the area and build a car park for the two churches, which have none, to mitigate any heritage loss, which was accepted by Historic England.

Bellway Homes' representative also said the company has been "honest" and "open" throughout the process.

But, several members voiced concerns about the application during yesterday's public meeting and some said the site should never have been put into Maidstone council's 2016 local plan.

Cllr John Perry (Con) called the decision a"terrible mistake" while Cllr Denis Spooner (Con) suggested Maidstone's local plan was outdated and said: "I fear there will be absolute gridlock here."

But, Cllr Robert Eves (Con) said: "Houses have to be built there whether we like it or not."

Kent County Council's highways team has warned there will be "unacceptably severe" traffic impact on the highway network and worsening safety hazards to road users on Church Road.

Former Maidstone councillor Matt Boughton, who sat on the planning committee for three years, tweeted: " It is almost unprecedented for Kent highways to object in the terms they have done for this application."

Cllr Perry said the existing application would be a "recipe for disaster" and said KCC highways' objections would be grounds for refusal.

But, Cllr English pleaded with members, who wanted to refuse the application, to "withhold their judgement" until after deferral.

He said: "There are too many blanks for my liking to either refuse or grant."

A deferral vote was agreed and nine committee members voted in favour while two abstaining.

Maidstone council's planning committee will vote on the updated application at a future meeting, but a date has yet to be confirmed.

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