A senior official in charge of a massive housing development says the cost of a railway station will have to be met by the landowners.

Remarks made by the officer for Maidstone council, which has been promoting the 5,000-home Heathlands development at Lenham Heath, have infuriated opponents of the scheme.

William Cornall, director of regeneration and place at Maidstone, spoke as the council decided whether to allow a further £2.5million to get the project up and running.

Green Independent Alliance councillor Rachel Rodway told the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday (January 21) of her concerns the extra cash may be “wasted”.

She told colleagues: "Do we have assurance that this additional £2.5m by Maidstone council would not become wasted in case this funding, which is desperately needed for this new station, does not materialise?"

Cllr Rodwell wondered, if neither the government nor Network Rail fund the rail station, how its finance will be “safeguarded”.

Mr Cornall, the council’s head of service for the Heathlands project, said: “In terms of the station, the benefit of the garden community approach is that it delivers the infrastructure; it’s fully funded.

“It consumes its own smoke, if you like. So the idea is that the value created by the planning permission and the project as a whole is what generates the value for the station.

“So, yes, we need Network Rail on board to sign it off and go through the process...but, fundamentally, the cost of the station is being paid for by the landowners. So, all the infrastructure costs come from their would-be land receipts.”

John Britt, chairman of Lenham Parish Council said: “We know that Network Rail will not fund it and before agreeing to something being added to the network it will require a business case which supports the running costs for a future period.

“So, the most recent example of a new station is Thanet Parkway which, we understand, cost more than £40m (although it was initially projected to cost significantly less) and we have no idea whether there is an outline business case to support the running of the facility for however long Network Rail requires that.

"Then, at the recent overview and scrutiny committee, in answer to a question about future costs as yet unknown we learnt from Mr Cornall, who is acting as the promoter for the council, the landowners will be paying for the delivery of the station from the receipts of the sale of their land.

“I’m not sure whether the landowners were aware of this. But I am minded to recall the advice we are often given...(that) if it sounds too good to be true it probably is."

Sheep farmer David Smith, whose land close to the M20 was in the original plans for the Heathlands scheme and subsequently removed, doubts if the housing will ever produce the funds required to build a railway station.

He said: “The whole scheme is uneconomical, in my view, and it is the landowners who will be carrying the financial risk.

“Since the Heathlands project was first announced, the cost of building houses has gone up exponentially and I don't believe MBC put in a big enough contingency to cover that rise.

“Mr Cornall has to demonstrate the scheme is economical and show us the figures.”

He added: “There is no government money and there is no Network Rail money, so it’s been a total non-starter from day one.”

Maidstone council is in a partnership with the government-backed Homes England as promoters of the Heathlands scheme to deliver the housing.

Opponents of the scheme fought for five years to halt it but ultimately failed in a High Court bid to have it judicially reviewed, effectively ending the campaign.

In including Heathlands in the council’s Local Plan, the government inspector demanded the railway station be part of the project.

A statement from the council said: “The subject of whether Network Rail would be able to pay for the proposed new railway station at Lenham Heathlands development was discussed at the council overview and scrutiny committee meeting regarding the possible funding pressures.

"The director of regeneration of place, William Cornall provided reassurance, by confirming that the station would be effectively indirectly funded by the principal landowners, through “land value uplift capture”; i.e. the price that the landowners will ultimately receive for their land will take account of the various infrastructure provision costs, to include the new station, that the master developer will need to provide for the project.

"Therefore, whilst the master developers will ultimately deliver the station, subject to the necessary approvals from Network Rail and the Department for Transport, this financial obligation is reflected in the terms agreed with the landowners."