00:00Green, not green! Green, not green!
00:03Today marks the first day of a planning inquiry looking into developing property on the green fields around Mepham.
00:10And these campaigners want their voices heard.
00:14We're fully aware of the situation with the economy
00:17and that building homes is something that is perceived as a way of achieving a better economy.
00:24But unfortunately most of the houses that get built are aspirational homes
00:28and what we really, really want to see is the brownfield first approach.
00:32We'd like Gravesham to do what they said that they would do
00:35and force developers to build on brownfield sites.
00:39As you can see behind me, the protest is still going on.
00:43Since I've been here, quite a lot of people have been coming and joining the protest outside the council.
00:47And as you can see on the signs, the message here is brownfield first.
00:51The protesters want developers to build properties on the site like Grey's End,
00:56rather on Greenfield site which are little villages like Mepham.
00:59Developer Taylor Wimpe proposed plans for up to 150 homes in the land near Norwood Lane,
01:06including affordable housing and public open space.
01:09But for Mepham residents, the new housing would cause more problems than it would solve.
01:14We've got a beautiful multicultural town here. We need to regenerate that, not desecrate the villages and the Greenbelt.
01:22That's the future for our children. That's our future. Once that's built on, it's gone.
01:26The infrastructure is not there for it. We have power cuts in Mepham.
01:29We have two trains an hour, one bus an hour, oversubscribed doctor surgery. This can go on.
01:35I mean, we get flooding. Mepham's on a hill. So when we have some torrential rain, the drains can't take
01:40it.
01:40It's just, it gets severe flooding. So the whole lot, street lighting, we have lack of street lighting.
01:45So it's all got to be worked on really, before you even think about putting more of a residence in
01:50the area.
01:50Back in May this year, the council's planning committee declined the application for the houses.
01:55This was appealed by the developers. Before the appeal was due to start, the council withdrew their objections
02:02and are now not involved in the appeals process. In a statement, Taylor Wimpey said,
02:07With the public inquiry now underway, it would not be appropriate for us to comment.
02:12We recognise the strength of local feeling and will continue to engage with the council,
02:16the local community and other stakeholders throughout the inquiry process.
02:20Gratian Borough Council also said it would be inappropriate to comment while the public inquiry is ongoing.
02:26A final decision will be made at the end of the three-day inquiry.
02:30Until then, residents are waiting to see if their green fields will remain untouched.
02:36Nayla Mahamud for KMTV in Gravesend.
