Today it's New Romney. Tomorrow it could be your community.

Across the UK, towns and villages are facing growing pressure from large-scale developments. Too often, local people feel their voices are overshadowed by developers with the money, resources and influence to pursue proposals that could permanently change the places they call home.

New Romney is one of those communities.

A proposal has been put forward to build around 110 homes on agricultural land north of Cockreed Lane. In response, local residents have come together to form the Cockreed Lane Action Group—an independent community campaign dedicated to ensuring New Romney's voice is heard throughout the planning process.

The proposed site includes Grade 1 and Grade 2 agricultural land identified through an Agricultural Land Classification survey. Once productive farmland is built on, it is lost forever.

Residents have also raised serious concerns about the potential impact on local roads, water resources, drainage, healthcare, schools and other essential infrastructure. We believe these issues should be independently assessed before productive agricultural land is considered for development.

But this petition is about more than one field.

It is about whether local communities should have a genuine voice in decisions that shape their future.

We are not against new homes. We recognise that housing is needed, and we support sustainable development in the right places. However, we believe productive agricultural land should only be considered for development once suitable brownfield and previously developed sites have been fully assessed, and only where independent evidence demonstrates that roads, water supplies, drainage, healthcare, schools and other essential infrastructure can support additional homes without adversely affecting existing communities.

For too long, many communities have felt that once a major developer identifies a site, local residents are left fighting an uphill battle. People spend countless hours attending meetings, researching planning policies, submitting objections and raising legitimate concerns, yet often feel their voices carry less weight than those promoting the development.

We believe that has to change.

The decisions made over the coming months will shape New Romney for generations. Once countryside is built on, it cannot simply be restored. That is why your support today matters.

New Romney is standing up not only for itself, but for every community that has ever wondered whether ordinary people can still make a difference.

By signing this petition, you are standing with us. You are sending a message that local communities deserve to be heard, that productive farmland should be protected wherever possible, and that development should be genuinely sustainable, supported by the right infrastructure and shaped with the involvement of the people who will live alongside it.

We call on Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Kent County Council and the UK Government to:

• Prioritise suitable brownfield and previously developed land before any productive agricultural land is considered for development.
• Ensure that all reasonable brownfield and greyfield opportunities have been fully assessed before allocating greenfield land for housing.
• Require comprehensive, independent assessments of water resources, drainage, flood risk, transport, healthcare, education and other essential infrastructure before planning permission is granted.
• Protect high-quality agricultural land wherever possible, recognising its importance for food production, biodiversity and future generations.
• Ensure that new developments enhance local communities rather than placing unacceptable pressure on existing residents, services and infrastructure.
• Give meaningful weight to the views of local communities throughout the planning process.

This campaign begins in New Romney, but its message reaches far beyond our town.

Across Britain, communities are facing similar challenges. By standing together and supporting one another, we can demonstrate that local voices matter and that development should be guided not only by housing need, but also by sustainability, infrastructure and the communities it affects.

Today we are asking you to stand with New Romney.

Tomorrow, another community may need people to stand with them.

Please sign and share this petition. Every signature strengthens the message that communities deserve to be heard. Together, we can show that when local people stand together, their voices cannot be ignored.