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<\/p>\nLOCALS are up in arms after a once quintessential English village became a 'dumping ground' for newbuild homes.<\/p>\n
Teynham in Kent, the so called garden of England, is now at risk of being "overdeveloped" by house builders. <\/p>\n
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Work is set to start on 300 new homes this year , with another 380 more approved just outside the parish boundary.<\/p>\n
Locals claim the village cannot sustain somany new build schemes , and some now want to leave. <\/p>\n
Census data states the village\u2019s population stood at 2,904 in 2001, 2,913 in 2011, and had risen to 3,277 by 2021.<\/p>\n
The first cherries in England were grown here in Henry VIII's time but now orchards and fields have been built over or earmarked for development.<\/p>\n
Blossom Grove is the latest housing development to be completed in the Teynham area.<\/p>\n
The new estate of 130 homes was built on top of an orchard reports Kent Live.<\/p>\n
Planners have now approved another 380 home scheme on land near a business park close to the village, toward an industrial estate in Sittingbourne.<\/p>\n
Local man David Steel said: "It\u2019s the same in all villages. No matter what village you\u2019re in along the A2 London Road they\u2019re all overwhelmed and overdeveloped.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe people who buy these houses are not from the local area either so there isn\u2019t a sense of community or people wanting to connect and get to know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n Cllr Lloyd Bowen, who lives in the heart of the village, said: "Teynham has become a dumping ground for new housing developments.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t live in Teynham and you drive through the village from Faversham to Sittingbourne you can still see that buffer between the village and the town.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we are now on the edge of crossing that buffer and losing our identity, community, and history. \u201c<\/p>\n Some locals are concerned about air pollution in the area. <\/p>\n Pauline Duncan, 72, said: "The air pollution here is also bad and the new housing developments will just see more cars coming here.<\/p>\n \u201cTeynham Primary School is also set to double in size but that is to only deal with the current population of the village. <\/p>\n "What is it going to do when more houses are built and more families move in?.\u201d<\/p>\n Elaine Wadhams, a mum-of-three from the village, said that felt a "black cloud" over Teynham.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cA black cloud has seemingly descended over Teynham recently, as so many villagers are sad and depressed. It could be the fact that yet another housing development has started.<\/p>\n \u201cTeynham has always been a farming community; the first ever cherries in England were grown in Teynham in the 1600s during the time of Henry VIII.<\/p>\n \u201cIt's sad that yet another housing development is starting to take shape. An apple orchard just up the way from me was lost to housing just a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it's a rapeseed field that's gone, also a cornfield and sadly the community playing field, that has been a place of enjoyment for decades, including Sunday football, cricket, events for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers.<\/p>\n \u201cVillagers feel the heart and soul is being ripped out of the village.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily Stanley, who owns Crispin's Fish Bar in the village, said that she can see both sides.<\/p>\n She said: "I can only welcome more customers, I\u2019ve noticed a big increase in regulars from the new Blossom Grove estate.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a village anymore, that village vibe has gone but times change and people need to live somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for Swale council said that many of the new schemes stemmed from the Local Plan which was adopted in 2017.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe government also does not require infrastructure to be in place before development starts and we have called for an infrastructure-first approach, but they haven\u2019t made this a legal requirement.<\/p>\n "Despite this It is incredibly important to us to provide adequate infrastructure, such as schools and healthcare, when new housing developments are created.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why we have a robust planning application process that consults with relevant organisations such as the NHS to identify new infrastructure needs for the community.<\/p>\n \u201cPlanning applications, including the developments in Teynham, can only be approved once the funding for necessary infrastructure enhancements have been secured through developer contributions (Section 106 agreements).\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/SC_COMP_P18-COFFEE.jpg\")
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