00:00This farmland in Fannett is earmarked for a 1,600 home estate, but after the discovery
00:06of a 17th century will, the development could be thrown into question.
00:11This application was put in years ago, and I suppose that I had run on the assumption
00:16that the authorities would do their thing, they'd do their due diligence.
00:21And I was really surprised, I must admit, when five years into the process, nobody seemed
00:28to be able to answer the most basic of questions, who owns the land and why.
00:33This is really about the rule of law, and yes, of course, we all understand that houses need
00:41to be built, people need somewhere to live, but property and law is the very basics of
00:50the English legal system, and we can't just ignore it because it's old.
00:54The document, which is over 380 years old, sets out that the land should be used to fund
01:00scholarships for young people born in Fannett.
01:02David set up the Fannett Trust Association in hopes of giving a voice to the community
01:07who, according to the will, should receive the benefits of the land.
01:10The development was approved by Fannett District Council last December, but now a joint judicial
01:15review posed by the Fannett Trust Association and Birchington Parish Council means it would
01:20be questioned in High Court.
01:21While the judicial review won't bring up answers of what should actually happen to this land
01:26and who exactly owns it, it will reveal whether Fannett District Council followed the right
01:31procedures before permitting the development here.
01:33David We picked up on a range of issues that we felt were quite substantial issues on planning
01:40matters and took those forward to our legal advisers in January when the time came.
01:47They examined it and they felt there wasn't enough information there, there wasn't enough
01:52substance to put together what they felt was a really robust appeal for a review.
01:59Then, of course, the Fannett Trust Association stepped up. Yes, we need more homes, we need
02:05homes for local people at prices that suit local budgets and it's not the place for large townhouses
02:14that cost fancy prices.
02:17A spokesperson for Fannett District Council said,
02:19We're aware of the judicial review application and are waiting on the High Court's decision on
02:23whether the case will progress. For now, the land continues to be enjoyed by dog walkers and
02:28nature lovers and many here are hoping that the development doesn't mark a historically wrong
02:33decision for the area. Chloe Brewster for KMTV in Birchington.
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