LOCALS are up in arms after a once quintessential English village became a ‘dumping ground’ for newbuild homes.
Teynham in Kent, the so called garden of England, is now at risk of being “overdeveloped” by house builders.
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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.
Locals claim the village cannot sustain so many new build schemes , and some now want to leave.
Census data states the village’s population stood at 2,904 in 2001, 2,913 in 2011, and had risen to 3,277 by 2021.
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.
Blossom Grove is the latest housing development to be completed in the Teynham area.
The new estate of 130 homes was built on top of an orchard reports Kent Live.
Planners have now approved another 380 home scheme on land near a business park close to the village, toward an industrial estate in Sittingbourne.
Local man David Steel said: “It’s the same in all villages. No matter what village you’re in along the A2 London Road they’re all overwhelmed and overdeveloped.
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“The people who buy these houses are not from the local area either so there isn’t a sense of community or people wanting to connect and get to know each other.”
Cllr Lloyd Bowen, who lives in the heart of the village, said: “Teynham has become a dumping ground for new housing developments.
“If you don’t 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.
“But we are now on the edge of crossing that buffer and losing our identity, community, and history. “
Some locals are concerned about air pollution in the area.
Pauline Duncan, 72, said: “The air pollution here is also bad and the new housing developments will just see more cars coming here.
“Teynham Primary School is also set to double in size but that is to only deal with the current population of the village.
“What is it going to do when more houses are built and more families move in?.”
Elaine Wadhams, a mum-of-three from the village, said that felt a “black cloud” over Teynham.
She said: “A 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.
“Teynham 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.
“It’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.
“Now 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.
“Villagers feel the heart and soul is being ripped out of the village.”
Emily Stanley, who owns Crispin’s Fish Bar in the village, said that she can see both sides.
She said: “I can only welcome more customers, I’ve noticed a big increase in regulars from the new Blossom Grove estate.
“However, I wouldn’t say it’s a village anymore, that village vibe has gone but times change and people need to live somewhere.”
A spokesman for Swale council said that many of the new schemes stemmed from the Local Plan which was adopted in 2017.
He said: “The 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’t made this a legal requirement.
“Despite this It is incredibly important to us to provide adequate infrastructure, such as schools and healthcare, when new housing developments are created.
“That 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.
“Planning 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).”
