Residents' anger at 125 flats plan

More then 30 residents held a meeting at Malling Community Centre to voice their anger at the planning application for flats and 3,062sqm of offices.

Criticisms of the plan include the visual effect it would have on the area, concerns about the traffic it will generate, the impact the development on flood defences, and the proximity of the flats and offices to the homes in Cranmer Close and De Grey Close.

In January 2006 the district council granted outline planning permission for the proposal and last month developers put forward detailed plans for the land.

Philip Parfitt, from Cranmer Close, said: 'This is a landfill site bang in the middle of a flood plain, it doesn't make any sense at all to build here.

'I have seen a letter to a resident in Cranmer Close from the council in 1989, at that time they said there would be a buffer zone of 20 metres which would be heavily planted with deciduous trees and conifers.

'But now the buffer zone is only 10 metres away and, from what I understand, will also double up as somewhere the people living in the new flats would store their rubbish bins.'

Ivor Stevens from Cranmer Close said: 'Our view of the Downs will be obliterated.

'There is also methane under the land and I'm sure they don't know exactly what they'll find when they start to dig up the ground.

'We're also very worried about the traffic the development will generate, there are already problems in this area and one breakdown can cause traffic jams of 45 minutes, and this could get much worse if the application is accepted.'

The Express made a number of attempts to contact the developer but received no response.

Architects working on behalf of the developer, listed on the application as Malling Brooks, have also been told they can not provide any drawings of the plans to the Express.

The application is currently being considered by planners at Lewes District Council.