From Opposition to Endorsement: Stuart Jeffery’s U-turn on Heathlands

23 / 08 / 25

In 2020, SOHL was supported by a private management consultancy, The Cernunnos Centre Ltd, which offered to independently assess the environmental implications of the proposed Heathlands Garden Community. The consultancy’s director, Stuart Jeffery, authored a detailed report evaluating the development against Maidstone Borough Council’s own declarations of climate and biodiversity emergencies.

The findings were stark. The report identified serious environmental flaws in the Heathlands proposal, including:

  • A projected carbon footprint of 3.8 million tonnes CO₂—consuming over 70% of Maidstone’s entire carbon budget to 2100.
  • An estimated 8,000 additional car journeys per day, contributing to congestion and air pollution along the A20 corridor.
  • Risks to the internationally protected Stodmarsh Nature Reserve due to increased wastewater pollution.
  • Loss of farmland critical for local food resilience and biodiversity.
  • A lack of credible renewable energy strategy or climate mitigation measures.

The report concluded that the development would increase emissions and pollution, undermine biodiversity and food security, and directly contradict the Council’s climate emergency commitments. It was submitted as part of SOHL’s Regulation 19 response to the Maidstone Local Plan Review.

Despite the evidence, Maidstone Borough Council dismissed the report, maintaining that the development would be sustainable and deliver a 20% biodiversity net gain.

At the time, Stuart Jeffery was a vocal critic of the Heathlands proposal. Running as the Green Party candidate for North Downs ward in 2021, he issued a strong statement to SOHL:

“The building of 5000 houses on Lenham Heath will be disastrous for the countryside and the people living all around the area… We need farmland for food, not unaffordable houses… Wastewater will pollute the Stour… Built areas are significantly hotter than countryside… Do we really want to look out from the North Downs Way on to a new town?”

Fast forward to 2025, and Stuart Jeffery is now the leader of Maidstone Borough Council and the Maidstone Green Party. In a dramatic reversal, he is promoting the Heathlands development, stating that he must “make the best of a bad situation.”

This shift has left many campaigners disillusioned.

Once a staunch opponent of the scheme, Jeffery is now leading its delivery. His alignment with senior officers at MBC and abandonment of earlier environmental objections has prompted SOHL to label him a hypocrite.

As the Council pushes forward with the Garden Community, residents and environmental advocates are left questioning whether political pragmatism has overtaken principle and what this means for the future of Maidstone’s countryside.

You can read the full report from The Cernnunos Centre here.