Residents left a parish council meeting “in disgust” over a controversial scheme to move village allotments.

Bearsted Parish Council is to continue working on “Project A” which would see them relocated to land east of the Church Landway donated by local philanthropists Richard and Dena Ashness.

The scheme will enable the village tennis club to extend its courts onto land currently occupied by the allotment holders – and it is a covenant of the Ashness’s gift that that should happen, otherwise the land will revert to them, but it would allow an extra 23 allotment plots to be created.

But the project has met with staunch opposition in some quarters of the village, firstly from the allotment holders, who don’t want to move, and secondly from other villagers who have railed against the projected cost of the project.

The latter has already been considerably reduced from more than £100,000 because initial plans for a dementia garden, children’s garden and an extension of the church car park have already been dropped from the scheme.

The current costings are pitched at £14,625 – though that is only an initial costing.

The chairman of the Landway Allotment Association, Jackie Pearce, speaking in the public section of the council meeting earlier this month, challenged that figure.

She said the council’s costings were based solely on mowing and flailing the plots, but the National Allotment Society’s advice indicated that a great deal more work was needed to properly prepare new ground for an allotment.

She also said the provision of toilets, not included in the price, was “essential.”

Council chairman Cllr Martin Broughton agreed that “we can’t put a price on it at the moment,” but he emphasised that the motion before the council was only to proceed with the exploratory work, not a definite decision to go ahead with the scheme.

Cllr Jon Hughes suggested the cost would work out at “about £25,000 or even at the top end, about £35,000”.

Cllr Denis Spooner challenged the legal position the council found itself in.

The council had engaged solicitors who had registered the transfer of the donated land to the council with the Land Registry office, but Cllr Spooner said the council had never passed a resolution to accept the donated land.

He said the former council chairman, Michael Bollom (who has since resigned) and Cllr Fabienne Hughes had signed the transfer document without any authority to do so. This was contrary to section 23a of the council’s standing orders.

Cllr Hughes said she did not recall signing the document.

"If they are not careful, Bearsted Parish Council will achieve the notoriety of Jackie Weaver and Handforth Parish Council...”

Cllr Broughton said that the council was where it was, with the land registered to the council. He said: “This is the option for the council to say no to the project.”

Instead the majority on the council voted to go ahead and then voted also to issue a briefing document to stakeholders and to pay up to £350 to gain pre-application advice from Maidstone council’s planning department to see exactly what might be allowed on the land.

Madginford Hall was full with 32 members of the public attending the meeting. Half a dozen walked out during the debate.

Mike Henderson, a volunteer with the Bearsted Woodland Trust said afterwards: “I walked out in disgust.

“Their handling of this has been secretive, devious and frankly chaotic.

"The opposition to Project A is not only from allotment holders; many parishioners oppose the scheme because they do not think the parish council is making good use of public money.

"If they are not careful, Bearsted Parish Council will achieve the notoriety of Jackie Weaver and Handforth Parish Council.”

Later that evening, the council voted unanimously to spend £35,148 on new play equipment at the Bearsted Woodland Play Area.