CONTROVERSIAL plans to build homes on land at Tonbridge Grammar School may be given the go-ahead after a second bid to secure planning consent comes before councillors.

Although plans for the development were rejected earlier in the year, residents at Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, are concerned that a second application from Rydon Homes could be accepted by the council.

The new application is for a total of 113 homes, and has been amended from the initial plans in a bid to meet council requirements.

The previous plan was rejected on the grounds of a lack of affordable housing and open spaces, along with its impact on traffic in the area. The fresh application includes plans for 30 per cent affordable housing, a pedestrian route and an open space.

If the scheme is accepted, the sale of land to Rydon Homes will allow the school to continue with a new £8 million redevelopment project.

Roger Povey, development officer at Rydon Homes, said: "Rydon Homes is confident in the quality of the new application. The council’s planning committee was specific about its reasons for rejecting our first application and we have made substantial changes to remove those objections."

Despite efforts to amend the scheme, local residents continue to oppose the application amid fears that it would have a devastating impact on the local community and environment.

John Brooker, 72, who has lived in Deakin Leas for more than 40 years, said "The application needs to be a lot better than last time, as it throws the area around Deakin Leas into turmoil.

"If it’s still going to be such a colossal development then I would oppose it. It is going to bring a huge amount of traffic into the area."

Another resident, Andy Linington, said: "It’s disastrous. Rydon Homes are trying to cover reasons for the original refusal, but we feel that these reasons are all fobs. A development of this size cannot fail to have a detrimental impact on the area. On so many levels we feel it’s environmentally damaging".

"The frustrating thing is that the sale of land is unnecessary. If the school had the patience to wait, they could have got funding for the project, as the government has made a commitment to replace old buildings anyway."

But Michael Norrie, chairman of the school governors, disagreed. He said: "The school had tried for a number of years to seek funding without success. With the local education authority confirming that capital funding will not be available for at least another 10-15 years, moving forward with the housing application is our only option."

The application is now registered with the council and the next step is for consultation to be carried out with the highways, health and environment agencies, as well as nearby residents.

Planning committee chairman Cllr Godfrey Horne (Con) said: "The applicants have to prove that they can overcome the problems that caused us to unanimously reject it last time."