Maidstone Borough Council and Homes England have published revised proposals for the Heathlands Garden Community after 114 residents and organisations responded to a survey held in May 2025.
Up to 5,000 homes could eventually be built on land to the east of Maidstone, near Lenham, if the Heathlands Garden Community goes ahead — and the council says it’s now updated its emerging plans based on what local people told it earlier this year. The site was allocated for housing in Maidstone’s Local Plan Review, a borough-wide planning blueprint covering 2021 to 2038, which was adopted in 2024. That allocation set the scale: up to 5,000 homes, at least 14 hectares of employment land, and a 40% affordable housing target.
The council and Homes England — the government’s housing delivery agency — are now working on a document called a Supplementary Planning Document, or SPD. Think of it as a detailed rulebook for how the site should be designed and built, covering everything from road layouts and school places to situation and biodiversity. It doesn’t grant planning permission — that comes later through a separate application process — but it’s intended to shape whatever eventually gets submitted.
What the proposals include
The plans as they stand are ambitious in scope. Alongside the homes, the proposals include a district centre, two smaller local centres, primary school provision for seven forms of entry, secondary school provision for six forms of entry, healthcare and community facilities, a country park, and — though its funding and timing are unconfirmed — a new railway station. The biodiversity target is set at 20% net gain, meaning the development would need to leave the natural environment measurably better off than before.
Who backs it — and who doesn’t
The council argues that master-planning the site as a garden community — rather than letting smaller, uncoordinated applications trickle through — is the best way to make sure infrastructure keeps pace with new homes. Kent County Council has backed the principle of planning Heathlands along garden-community lines.
But opposition is substantial. Lenham Parish Council has stated its opposition to the scheme outright. Campaign group Save Our Heathlands has challenged whether the allocation is adequately justified and deliverable, raising questions about the evidence on infrastructure, environmental impacts and water. During the Local Plan process, concerns were also raised about transport pressures, the effect on the rural character of Lenham, and whether consultation had been sufficient — including questions about whether it was appropriate for the council to promote the site while also being responsible for planning policy decisions on it.
Government planning examination material flagged concerns about the water environment and the deliverability of the allocation. Those questions haven’t gone away.
What residents said last time
Drop-in sessions were held at Lenham Community Centre and the Dog and Bear Hotel in May 2025. The online survey that ran alongside them drew 114 responses. The council says that feedback has been used to revise the proposals, though the specific changes made in response to this latest round of engagement have not been independently verified from published material.
No planning application has been submitted. No construction has started. The SPD consultation closed on 15 December 2025, according to the council’s consultation portal.
Key information
- The Supplementary Planning Document consultation closed on 15 December 2025 — check the council’s consultation portal for whether any further comment routes remain open
- New engagement events are being promoted by the council — register via Maidstone Borough Council’s website for dates, times and venues
- The Heathlands allocation sits within the Maidstone Borough Local Plan Review 2021–2038, adopted in 2024; the SPD does not itself grant planning permission
- Residents can also contact Lenham Parish Council directly if they wish to engage with the local body that has formally opposed the scheme