An inspector has overturned Maidstone's refusal of 81 homes at Lodge Road, Staplehurst, with no affordable homes on site. Councillors had gone against officers.
A government planning inspector has given permission for 81 homes on land west of Lodge Road, Staplehurst, overturning a refusal by Maidstone’s councillors. None of the homes on the site will be affordable housing.
Staplehurst is about nine miles south of Maidstone. Inspector Ian Dyer allowed the appeal on 5 October 2026, and the permission also covers a commercial unit of up to 1,000 square metres (appeal decision 6008294).
The council’s Planning Committee refused the scheme against its own officers’ advice (appeals list, Planning Committee, 15 October). The refusal was issued on 29 October 2025 (application 23/502352/HYBRID).
Why the inspector overruled the council
The council accepted the principle of building here. The land is allocated in the Local Plan for about 78 homes and about 1,000 square metres of employment space. The argument was about affordable housing.
The site is in a zone where the council’s target is 40% affordable homes. The developers, Ilke Homes Land Ltd and Civils Contracting Ltd, offered none. Both sides agreed that 40% plus the commercial space would not pay for itself.
The inspector accepted that this conflicts with the Local Plan. He said it “would undermine the provision of affordable homes” and would “unbalance the demographic” of the development. Three things outweighed that in his judgment:
- Housing supply: the council cannot show a five-year supply of land. The inspector recorded the council’s figure as 4.5 years. Reports to the 15 October committee put it at 3.6 years.
- Deliverability: a scheme meeting every policy could not be built “at this time, or in the foreseeable future”, which would lose an allocated site.
- Location: the site is close to a railway station and bus routes.
The developers also asked for their costs. The inspector refused, saying councillors were entitled to reach a different view from their officers and had provided evidence for it (costs decision).
What the permission requires
The decision comes with 35 conditions and a legal agreement. They include:
- a three-year limit to start work on the homes
- a review of the profits, which could bring payments for affordable homes elsewhere if the development makes enough money
- 20% biodiversity net gain on site, plus public open space and play areas
- a great crested newt licence and a reptile plan before any work begins
- a drainage scheme approved before work starts on any phase
- noise protection for the 22 plots named in the conditions, as the site is beside the railway
- boundary treatment to discourage access to the public footpath over the level crossing
Network Rail objected over safety at that crossing, and residents raised concerns about children using it. The inspector said the scheme has no direct link to the footpath. He accepted that boundary treatments “would discourage use”, though not prevent it.
The Staplehurst numbers
Lodge Road is one of three large housing schemes in the village this autumn.
- On 15 October the Planning Committee voted 9 to 3 to allow 62 homes south of Marden Road, subject to a legal agreement. That scheme has 40% affordable housing. The planning portal still lists it as awaiting a decision.
- At Henhurst Farm, Wates is preparing plans for up to 300 homes. No planning application has been decided there.
What it means for you
- The decision is final unless challenged in the High Court. There is no further vote at the council.
- The details still come back to the council. Drainage, landscaping, lighting and materials all need its written approval under the conditions. Applications to approve them are made through the Mid Kent planning portal.
- Lodge Road itself changes. The conditions require dropped kerbs, tactile paving, give way markings and details of new surfacing and replacement lighting before anyone moves in.
Our planning applications guide explains how to follow a case on the Mid Kent portal.
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