West Malling Parish Council is crowdfunding to help challenge the Bellway Homes application to build up to 65 dwellings on the field between West Malling railway station and Lavenders Road. This will include a new access directly onto Swan Street, where a line of mature trees and much of the ancient embankment will be removed to clear sight lines for the new entrance 

We need your support to help meet the costs of challenging the Bellway application at the upcoming planning appeal in August. Whether you can spare £1, £10 or £100, all contributions are VERY welcome and will help keep this corner of West Malling green for future generations!

Challenging this planning application is vitally important if we are to protect this site, right next to the historic St Mary's Abbey, from the developers. As well as posing significant risk to the ancient abbey, building on this site means that we would lose the rural eastern entrance to West Malling for ever, endangering the birds, plants, insects and other animals that call the fields and trees that surround it home.

New houses on this site would also mean more traffic and more pollution for West Malling residents and everyone else who values the green and historic character of our town, as well as the rural setting of West Malling station and its surrounds. 

The estimated costs of the legal advice and representation required to challenge this application is around £60,000 and so we need all the help we can get if we are to protect the Lavenders Road site from the bulldozers.

So please help us by:

• Pledging £15, or whatever you can afford to the campaign
• Sharing the link to this page far and wide on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and anywhere else you can think of.
• Attending the appeal on 20 August to show your support.

Thanks in advance!