It was a co-ordinated activity held simultaneously with events by 29 other residents’ and amenity groups across the county to drive home to the Government the important message – Save Our Green Spaces!

Those on the walk were given a tour of the site at Abbey Gate Farm off Stockett Lane that Maidstone Council has allocated in its Local Plan Review to take 250 homes.

The site allocation map published by the council is the area in pink below:

Proposed development area  – Abbey Gate Place – LPRSA 265

Area A is in fact currently the Walnut Tree Meadows nature reserve run by the Hayle Park Nature Reserve Trust.

Area C is to the east of Stockett Lane on the escarpment of the Loose Valley.

Area B is all prime agricultural land that wraps around the historic 15th Century Abbey Gate Place.

The Local Plan Review is currently out to public consultation.

Please take the time to OBJECT to the allocation of site LPRSA 265 which is for 250 homes on agricultural land at Abbey Gate Farm.

You can let MBC know what you think of its proposals via https://maidstone-consult.objective.co.uk/kse

You need the section labelled “Local Plan Review Regulation 19”

Alternatively, you can just email the council on ldf@maidstone.gov.uk

Or write to – Strategic Planning, Maidstone Borough Council, Maidstone House, King Street, Maidstone, ME15 6JQ

Your response must contain your full name and postal address or it won’t be counted and must be submitted by December 12.

Things you might want to refer to are:

· A third of the land shown as the development site is in fact the Walnut Tree Meadows Nature Reserve,

· It would involve the loss of prime agricultural land.

· It is not a sustainable location as there is no pedestrian footway from the proposed access onto Dean Street down into Tovil, so every movement would be by car

· It would adversely affect the setting of a listed building: Abbey Gate Place