Residents in Paddock Wood are concerned about the huge number of new homes heading their way if Tunbridge Wells Borough Council persists with its Local Plan as currently drafted.

And now they have found a new way to protest - by song!

Pianist Daniel Grimwood and singer Sue Lovell have produced a video of themselves performing "Blame new houses and surface water" a song written by Daniel's father Terry to the tune of Bridge Over Troubled Water.

The song exemplifies residents' fears over the town's sewerage and drainage systems not being able to cope with the flood of new housing.

The first verse goes:

"When there's sewage in the hall

Your chairs are floating by

You can't dry them all

You're really low

Oh You've had enough

And sandbags can't be found

Blame new houses and surface water

When the rains come down

Blame new houses and surface water

When the rain comes down."

The draft Local Plan seeks to provide the borough with 13,560 new homes in the plan period, which started in 2016 and goes on till 2036.

Of those, 4,000 are marked up for Paddock Wood itself or in a ring around the town in the parish of Capel.

Another 2,800 are earmarked for a garden village at nearby Tudeley

Ms Lovell said: "This plan is full of gaps and now also out of date due to the Covid crisis as well as new planning guidance issued by the Government.

"Paddock Wood makes up 7.1% of the Tunbridge Wells constituency. Yet they intend to dump at least 50% of the new builds on us and Capel, destroying villages, wildlife, farmland and increasing the already high flood risk.

"The council must think again."

The song can be found on the Facebook page of the campaign group Stop Over Development of Paddock Wood.

It has already had more than 3,000 views.

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