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00:00The first signs of spring blossoming in this quaint rural village, but little joy in Robinsham
00:07as more than 8,000 homes are planned for the land around this community.
00:11A 12-week planning inquiry is starting this week into the proposals which will transform
00:16the area.
00:17The developer arguing for its economic benefits, whereas hundreds of residents fear the end
00:22of rural life.
00:23We're not just NIMBYs.
00:24We do want to make sure there's housing provision for our community, but we do think we've got
00:29a really strong chance of pushing forward what are the many ecological landscaping and
00:33other factors that will make sure that we make sure the development is right and not
00:37just right here.
00:38What would the feel of the area be?
00:40Would it still be a village?
00:41I don't think we could call it a village at all.
00:43I think one of the things we're most worried about is that we will look off into the distance
00:45and what was once was the shadow of Robinsham Church and now we will see an M2 junction
00:51motorway.
00:52St Nicholas has been here since medieval times, the urban sprue of Sittingbourne getting ever
00:57closer.
00:59So we're at the top of Robinsham's Church right now.
01:01If the development does go ahead, what would we be able to see from up here?
01:06So over here would be thousands of houses all the way across the field here, all the
01:10way up to Dully.
01:11Over here would be sports facilities along with the Southern Relief Road, which weaves
01:16all around the villages here.
01:18This is not affordable housing what's being offered here.
01:21In the northern scheme, it's only about four and a half percent is going to be affordable.
01:25I mean, that's outrageous.
01:27It's a huge land grab, taking up huge swathes of some of our best agricultural land in the
01:32country.
01:33The development would see new schools, health centres and sports facilities and quinn estates
01:39as more than 50% of the site will be publicly accessible.
01:44This is the proposed plan for Highstead Park.
01:46You can see the balance of the eight and a half thousand homes with the country park
01:51as well in the middle.
01:53An incredibly controversial development.
01:55People living around Robinson don't like the idea of thousands of homes around them.
01:59However, down at the south, the Science Park and businesses could get a big boost.
02:05The Brickies are having one of the best seasons yet and believe Highstead Park could help
02:10them go from strength to strength.
02:12In the 70s we used to get good crowds and things like that and there's signs that it's
02:16coming back and it's a big population here now, over 60,000 in Sydenborne.
02:20So yeah, it's been fantastic.
02:23And on that, it could be about to get even bigger.
02:25Highstead Park development, going to Planning Inquiry, you guys are set to benefit from
02:29that aren't you?
02:30We are very much so.
02:32We've got over 40 teams, we need a bigger footprint, bigger site and this is going to
02:36be a school or a doctor's I think here.
02:39We're going to move nearer the motorway if the development goes through with 125 year
02:44lease for the community.
02:46Not for us, just for us, but we'll run it for them, but it'll be for the community.
02:49And it will benefit because the whole of this town is so far behind with its sports.
02:54I think even the two all-weather and three grass pitches we put in at the new stadium,
03:00we'd still be behind the requirement for the country for sports.
03:04They say the proposed relief road could greatly benefit the community and are calling for
03:08this to come first.
03:10It'll see a new junction from the M2 to Sydenborne.
03:13The key thing about this development is those houses pay for the road.
03:18They pay for other things as well, like primary schools, secondary schools, health centre,
03:21new football club, but they actually pay for the road.
03:24We all know the state the country's in at the moment with a lack of big infrastructure,
03:28but also how tight public finances are.
03:31Effectively, this is a great way potentially of using housing development to also build
03:36the infrastructure.
03:37And what really matters is we get the infrastructure first and that's what currently is being proposed
03:42by the developers.
03:43The developer has said the new road is chronically needed in the local area, but local environmental
03:49campaigners say it's not worth it as it'll cut through this ancient woodland.
03:54No-one really knows the full impact of what will happen when you do this.
03:57What we do know is it'll fragment their habitat, so it means that we'll get reduced gene pool
04:02for certain species, and if we fragment them too much, those particular species will die
04:07out altogether close to those areas because they haven't got enough habitat.
04:13Across the next 12 weeks, all these arguments and many more will be heard.
04:18It'll then be in the hands of the planning inspector to decide whether this land stays
04:23as it is, or if this huge development can go ahead.
04:27And if it's given the green light, it'll take two decades to complete.
04:33Gabriel Morris, in Sittingbourne.