Controversial plans to build a 450-home estate at an idyllic spot are back on the agenda.

The Attwood farming family has been trying to build on land at Gibraltar Farm in Capstone Valley for years but has stumbled on several planning hurdles.

Last year, the development was halted because Medway Council refused to sell a piece of land which would have provided the main access.

Now, a new outline application has been submitted to the planning authority with two new access routes off Ham Lane, 500m from the junction with Lidsing Road.

Ham Lane would be widened while the junction between Lidsing Road and Hempstead Road would be reworked.

The latest proposal is for a mix of market and affordable homes, a nursery, shops and community open space.

Residents say the proposal would impact hugely on traffic through Hempstead and neighbouring Bredhurst.

The developers scored a victory two years ago when the government overturned a decision by the council in the wake of public uproar.

Public meetings attracted hundreds of residents and letters of objection, and a petition was signed by almost 3,000 people.

In a report, Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said the benefits of the development significantly outweighed the disadvantages of losing the site for agricultural land.

It stated: “The proposed dwellings would provide much-needed homes, including affordable homes, and this would provide for an improvement in people’s quality of life.”

One of the main concerns of Gibraltar Farm, hailed as “Medway’s green lung”, was that, if approved, it might open the floodgates to develop parcels of open land across the Towns.

"This new application has serious consequences for Hempstead and we will do all we can to defeat it as we have done with previous applications...” - ward councillors Rodney and Diane Chambers

Ward councillors Rodney and Diane Chambers have written to residents urging them to object to the scheme.

They said: “As your ward councillors we have consistently opposed developments in the Capstone Valley.

"This new application has serious consequences for Hempstead and we will do all we can to defeat it as we have done with previous applications.”

Dad-of-two Jamie Weller, who lives in Hempstead Road, said: “Congestion is already a problem, especially with those going to Hempstead Valley shopping centre.

“It is used as a rat run already and we have a problem with speeding drivers.”

n What do you think? Is it the right place for development? Email medway@thekmgroup.co.uk