A developer has won permission to create 115 homes on land bordering a Kent village.

The initial outline application from Catesby Estates for land off Moat Road in Headcorn was rejected by Maidstone council in May last year, but the council’s decision has been overturned by a planning inspector on appeal.

During the appeal, Catesby offered to restore a former granary building on the site, which was part of the curtilage of the adjacent Grade II listed building, known as The Moat, and which the firm had at first been proposing to demolish.

The borough council withdrew all its reasons for refusal after submitting a list of proposed conditions to address its other concerns.

However, the inquiry went ahead at a seven-day hearing in February with the inspector, Hayley Butcher, saying it was still necessary to consider the level of harm caused to the setting of Moat House, and whether the proposed access was satisfactory, and whether the risk of flooding at the site could be suitably mitigated.

But Ms Butcher concluded the degree of harm to the listed building would be minimal and was far outweighed by the benefits that would come with the new housing.

Kent County Council (KCC), the highways authority, had not objected to the two accesses, nor had the Environment Agency raised concerns over potential flooding, and the inspector concurred with their findings.

The site had been allocated for 110 homes in Maidstone’s Local Plan Review, adopted in March last year.

The Moat, which is located outside the site boundary, is a former moated farmhouse thought to date from the early or mid-16th century.

The development site is part of the land historically associated with The Moat.

Ms Butcher said that views from Moat Road when entering the village and its conservation area would be improved by the development and that proposed highway works, which included new pavements, gateway signs, and a pedestrian crossing at the Moat Road/Kings Road/A274 junction would actually improve highway safety for all users.

In conclusion, the inspector said: “I am satisfied that the development would provide safe and suitable pedestrian routes into the village such that there would be no material impact on parking in Headcorn.”

There had been more than 100 letters of objection to the plan, including one from Jamie Freeman, the owner of Headcorn Aerodrome, who had warned the new homes would lay beneath the flight path for those using the airfield and residents could be disturbed by their noise.

James Thomas, the chairman of Headcorn Parish Council, spoke against the application at the inquiry.

Afterwards, the parish council issued a statement saying: “We have had more than 500 houses built in the parish over the last 10 years.

“So we are disappointed that additional development at Moat Road is going ahead – we feel that it is the wrong development in the wrong location.

“It offers no real benefits to the village. Social housing is not something that is useful for the village as a whole.”

“In recent developments, social housing dwellings have had to be offered out to other urban areas as these cannot be filled locally.

“We understand that this development was part of the local plan, which made refusal unlikely, and we appreciate the difficult position the inspector was in when making this decision.

“We had concerns about pedestrian access, traffic etc. but we are pleased with the conditions that have been put in place. Our priority is to ensure these conditions are implemented to try to get the best resolution for the village with this development moving forward.”

Headcorn is earmarked to take 275 new homes across the village in Maidstone council’s Local Plan Review - which sets out planning policies and proposals for development for the coming years till 2038.