Kent could be getting another controversial 'shared space' scheme if ideas discussed for a new 7,000-home development in the county become a reality.

The Chilmington Green development, which is planned between Singleton and Stubb’s Cross, near Ashford, will be more than twice the size of nearby Tenterden when complete.

The idea was put forward at a two-day planning event. It would see the A28 diverted through the centre of the new housing development - an idea described as "absurd" by one resident.

Drivers travelling between Tenterden and Ashford or Canterbury - who can currently travel at the national speed limit of 60mph along the A28 to the south of the Great Chart roundabout - would have to cut their speed to below 20 mph as they drive through the new High Street.

The High Street would follow the controversial concept of shared space, where traffic and pedestrians mix, which has been adopted in parts of Ashford.

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Richard Alderton, head of planning and development at Ashford Borough Council, said: "Speeds will slow down to 10 or 15 or 20 miles an hour. If you’re travelling from Ashford to Tenterden, perhaps it’ll add two minutes to your journey."

But not everyone at the consultation events held in Shadoxhurst and Singleton on was convinced.

Michael Bowers, who has lived in Chilmington Green Road for 25 years, described the idea of diverting the A28 as "absolutely absurd".

Planners stress that designs are in the ideas stage and likely to change. They also say they are listening to what residents want.

• For more on this story, see Thursday's print edition of the Kentish Express.

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