Further expansion of a town with 52 new properties and a mini-supermarket on a new estate has been proposed.

The development would see the erection of 36 houses and 16 flats along with a small convenience store, such as a Co-op or Sainsbury’s Local, between a cemetery and a main road in Hawkinge, near Folkestone.

If approved by Folkestone & Hythe District Council (FHDC), the buildings on the site at the junction of Aerodrome Road and Spitfire Way will include 11 affordable homes and 12 custom-built properties.

Applicant, Mr N Masters, has confirmed there will also be a creation of a new pedestrian and cycle link to the south of the site in order to provide “wider connectivity to the area”.

The new homes would range from single-storey bungalows and a mixture of two and three-storey buildings.

Mr Masters claims the development “would not be harmful to the immediate vicinity of the site” and will “preserve the landscape value of the area”.

The land on which the new homes are being proposed is currently vacant.

Out of the flats eight of them will have one bedroom and the other eight will have two bedrooms.

As for the 36 houses, eight two-bedroom properties are being proposed, along with 10 three-bedroom, four four-bedroom homes and the 12 custom-built properties will be between three and five bedrooms.

Cllr David Godfrey (Con), who lives in Hawkinge, did not wish to elaborate on the plans but said “new homes are needed in the area”.

“Hawkinge is a growing town,” he said.

“As long as the infrastructure is right then we need new homes.”

Hawkinge town councillors met to discuss the application at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday evening.

When asked by KentOnline for his views about the application and fellow town councillors’ discussions, Hawkinge mayor and planning committee member Cllr Chris Johnson refused to comment.

Committee members decided “not to object to the application in principle” but noted concerns over the site not being allocated in FHDC’s local plan.

They added the proposed development would potentially “land lock” the area above the development which too would need to be included within FHDC’s planning policy and feature a “clear access strategy”.

The site itself is located close to the town centre, to the west, and east of the town’s cemetery.

Kent County Council and the fire service have both given no objections to the proposals.

In 2022, developers announced plans for 110 homes on the land neighbouring the Kent Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge.

The proposal was for the houses and public open space covering 5.2 hectares on the former Second World War airfield.