Locals are furious with Angela Rayner after she has taken control of plans for a new 8,400-home ‘garden town’ – meaning she has the final say rather than residents.
The plot in Kent has enraged locals who had been working with councillors to block the development of thousands of homes.
Plans for the 8,400 homes near Sittingbourne have been objected by locals, and Swale Borough Council were making the decision on whether the development should be allowed, reports the Daily Mail.
Officers were due to vote on the proposals but three hours before their decision was due, they received a letter saying Rayner would be taking over.
Councillors and residents are afraid she will approve plans despite the local opposition.
The first application for the new development asks for permission to build 7,150 homes, primary and secondary schools and a hotel.
An additional 1,250 homes will also be built under a second proposal, including sheltered and care accommodation, a school and a motorway relief road.
Swale Council received many letters of objection with more than 700 residents voicing concerns.
The development comes as part of Labour’s plans to deliver £1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
Rayner rejected suggestions Britain is “too crowded” or that there is “no countryside left”, saying: “The vast majority of England is still very green and will remain so.”
Conservative councillor for Swale, Julien Speed, said he and the local community are “gobsmacked” and “furious”.
He told The Telegraph: “The Government has completely pulled the rug from under our feet and taken that decision away from us. I just think it’s totally unacceptable.”
Ms Goatham, of the Farm Fields & Fresh Air campaign group, told KentOnline: “We’re totally against development on the best and most versatile agricultural land. To think that it could all be concreted with more and more housing – Sittingbourne already has a problem with GP services.
“It would set an awful precedent for every other developer in the borough who would want to bring forward mass housing developments.”
Quinn Estates argue in planning documents that “the proposals are entirely suitable for the site in terms of land use, amount of development, access, layout and appearance”.
The firm added: “Ultimately it will become a vibrant garden village settlement within the borough, transforming the local area, as well as adding regionally significant benefits to the surrounding area as a whole.”
It insisted it could be “the most sustainable development in the south east.”
Despite this, neighbouring parish councils have objected to the plans with concerns over changing the rural nature of the area.
