KNOWN as the Garden of England, Kent is famous for its lush green meadows and rural country walks.
But residents in the tiny village of Eccles fear their idyllic way of life will soon be wiped out by a huge housing development that will 'turn them into the next Milton Keynes'.
Opposition leaders say they could be dubbed the ‘Housing Estate of England’ if plans go ahead to build 950 new homes on a 63-hectare plot that covers agricultural land and village allotments.
This would more than double the size of Eccles, which currently only has 752 homes, and transform vast swathes of greenery into concrete and brick.
Parish councillor Roger Gledhill says the proposal is just one of a number of developments under consideration that could see 6,000 new houses stretching from Eccles to Maidstone in Kent, which is five miles away.
Roger, 85, tells The Sun: “If all these projects come into being, this will become one large urban area. The question is, is it necessary?
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“I thought this government was going to level up and build properties in the Midlands and the North.
“Eccles is a lovely place, as you’ve got easy access by train and motorway to London and the coast. I’ve lived here since 1976.
“There is still a sense of community in the village, but these new developments only bring in commuters.
“The days of living, working and playing in a village have gone, sadly.
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9“Most of the people that come here to live have no feeling for the actual village, it’s just a place to sleep and commute.
“There are three villages in this area and I believe they will all disappear with these building projects, just as other places in Kent have done in the past.
“Charlton and Blackheath were villages at one time and they’re now part of South East London. That’s the way the world is going.
“I’m not angry about it because it’s life and you can’t do much about it… The people that get angry are the ones that have moved down from London wanting a village way of life and then find that it doesn’t exist anymore.”
Hundreds of objections
The plans outlined by Tonbridge and Malling Council have caused uproar in Eccles, with virtually the entire village objecting.
A total of 777 individual letters of complaint were handed in by last month, but those involved in the campaign admit they have little hope of succeeding.
Retired foreman Ray Sturgeon, 83, lives on a quaint detached property with a beautifully tended garden that backs onto the land earmarked for development.
He says: “This will destroy our village and we don’t want houses all over the place, but what can you do?
“I signed the papers complaining about this last week but they’re too big a crowd, they will tread on everyone.
“I remember the time we handed over two sacks full of letters complaining about the sewage works to the council.
This will destroy our village and we don’t want houses all over the place, but what can you do? I signed the papers complaining about this last week but they’re too big a crowd, they will tread on everyone
“Someone told me later, ‘Ray, as soon as you’re out of here, they will take those letters and put them in the bin.’
“I believe that person because we never did get a meaningful response. It will be the same with these developments, they will do whatever they want.”
When The Sun visited Eccles this week, it did seem like a place that had been forgotten about.
The village has only one shop – a newsagents that doubles as a post office where residents can buy essentials.
There is a single pub, the grade II listed Red Bull, which was closed until the middle of the week.
The second pub, The Walnut Tree, had been demolished years earlier to make way for a housing development.
Yet the village lies just off the M20, meaning it has become a rat run with lorries and sewage trucks thundering through en route to other places.
Minutes after our reporting team arrived, a red-faced HGV driver angrily swore at a man in a car for failing to get out of his way as he navigated a narrow country lane.
Neglected
Linda O’Halloran, 73, runs one of Eccles few social hubs, an over-50s club in a former butcher’s shop, where people enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of cake for £1.
She says: “I started it for the elderly 20 years ago so they could have somewhere to meet up and have a chat. It’s become vital for some people because we don’t have much else.
“We’ve got loads of old people, but no buses and no doctor. The GPs are in Burham village next door, but Arriva stopped the buses so they can’t get there.
“They said no-one was using them, but that’s ridiculous.
“Years ago there were shops on every corner and a bus every hour, but all that has gone.
Right now it’s a sad little village because we’re stuck out on the edge and the council seems to have forgotten about us. I feel like we’ve been neglected
“I don’t think new houses are a bad idea, as I think we might get some community back in the village, but that’s just me.
“I would like to see some more shops and a community centre.
“Right now it’s a sad little village because we’re stuck out on the edge and the council seems to have forgotten about us. I feel like we’ve been neglected.
“Every other place has two or three community centres, but we’ve got nothing."
Unaffordable
Eccles first popped up on the map in the second half of the 19th century when builder Thomas Cubitt established a well-known brickyard that attracted workers to the area.
That company is long gone and in recent years the area has become better known as the home of the Chapel Down vineyard, which has been harvesting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Bacchus grapes here since 2007.
Retired factory worker Bob Jones, 82, was born in Eccles and has never considered leaving.
He says: “Living here is about enjoying country life, nice walks, friendly people, everyone talks to each other.
“I like it quiet but it’s changing all the time. There used to be orchards all over Kent but now it’s just grapes and you can’t live on those, can you.
I know people need somewhere to live, but it’s not local people buying the houses. It’s Londoners. They are the only ones that can afford them
“My house is probably the oldest one in my street and there used to be fields opposite me. Now it’s houses.
"I know people need somewhere to live, but it’s not local people buying the houses. It’s Londoners.
“They are the only ones that can afford them, we can’t. Young people can’t get a mortgage.
“The two-up, two-down houses that I first bought when I got married are going for almost £300,000 now.
“They always say we’ve got it better down south, but we’ve got the same minimum wages and their houses don’t cost half as much.
“A lot of people I know are moving up north because they still have countryside all around them and it’s cheaper.”
'I feel sorry for my kids'
Mum-of-four Sarah Kneller was one of the few young people we could find in the village.
She keeps three horses and a coop of chickens next to a peaceful meadow that is now at risk of being concreted over.
Sarah, 32, says: “It doesn’t seem right, does it, and I feel sorry for my kids because in 20 years time it won’t look like this anymore. It will look like a housing estate.
“My husband is a carpet fitter and we live nearby in Gillingham, Kent, but this is a little haven for us, we love it.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like when they start building houses everywhere. It’s going to be chaos and we don’t know what we can do.
“We keep being told it will happen in a couple of years, but we’re worried it might happen a lot quicker.
“I’m hoping we can stay but I don’t know if the horses will cope with all the building work.
“We don’t want to move and it makes me angry. When I first heard about it, I panicked. Now I keep asking, ‘Why?’ I know there’s a need for houses but please don’t put them here.”
A spokesperson for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council told The Sun: "This is a large, complex application and we’ve been working hard with [developers] Trenport over a number of months to ensure it meets the high standards we set for developments of this type.
"In particular we’ve been focused on ensuring the application meets our policies in areas such as sustainability, highways and landscape impacts and affordable housing.
‘We felt progress was being made which was supported by a recently amended Planning Performance Agreement."
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They added: "All representations on the application are reviewed by the case officer and available to view on the public portal.
"The Council does not consider that Eccles has been 'forgotten'."
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