Sign up to our daily newsletter for all the latest Kent stories and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing!We have more newsletters A huge 1,650-home development in Kent has been approved in spite of 1,800 objections. In September, the divisive proposal was deferred by Thanet district councillors hoping for an increase in affordable homes at the site in Birchington on Tuesday night (November 26) the bid was approved Developers Ptarmigan Land and Places for People applied for outline planning permission for up to 1,650 homes on fields at the edge of the village back in 2021 The plans have received more than 1,800 objections since then with concerns raised over inadequate infrastructure the loss of farmland and the erosion of a peaceful and quiet way of life at Tuesday night's meeting members heard the developers couldn’t meet Thanet District Council’s (TDC) guidelines on affordable homes while also achieving the profits expected by the authority Ptarmigan proposed that 15.5 per cent of the homes – 256 properties – be sold or rented affordably but on large developments TDC policy says it should be 30 per cent TDC’s planning applications manager explained that according to policy developments have to be commercially viable – with a 15-20 per cent profit considered reasonable Even with 15.5 per cent of properties affordable “the developer profit would be at 9.5 per cent – so it is notably less than the target what we would expect,” he added this would still be a profit of about £50 million and if they hit the target of about 17 per cent profit The planning boss continued: “I do understand that when looking at figures like this – £50m "These are significant scale developments profit is part of housing developments.” It is possible the amount of affordable housing could jump to 23 per cent if Kent County Council gets money from the Major Road Networks (MRN) fund to help build the North Thanet Link Road a major project which would create a six-mile route between the A28 and Manston Road the developers plan to build part of the road themselves – but if KCC receive the government money it will take pressure off them to do so and allow more affordable homes to be built without eating into their profits Councillors were divided over whether to accept the number of affordable homes with the plans narrowly approved seven to six Cllr Jill Bayford (Con) said: “This committee is being asked to reach a decision without knowledge of the exact percentage of much-needed affordable housing which will be available due to the uncertainty of the MRN funding I find this decision very difficult to make." Cllr Rebecca Wing (Green) said: “We’re constantly being asked to reduce the affordable housing number when we see massive profits at the same time,” eliciting applause from the public gallery raised concerns that if the scheme was rejected developers could appeal their decision and it would ultimately end up with less affordable homes She told members: “What is being currently offered is actually above what viability says it should be so again there is a possibility that if it went to appeal it could come back and we’d get less.” Cllr Kristian Bright (Lab) backed the plans going on: “There is a shortage of housing in the country there aren’t enough homes being built and that’s probably because of councils and planning committees up and down the country saying no to proposals and applications on the basis of technicalities." “I don’t want to contribute to the problem Ultimately we need cogent reasons for refusal I didn’t think there were last time and I don’t think there are today,” he added Ptarmigan has pledged to give up to £45m towards local services including £8m for a secondary school in Westwood The development will also include green space covering an area the size of 44 football pitches Ptarmigan development manager Craig Neilson said the scheme will “benefit both new and existing residents of Birchington.” Only councillors were allowed to speak during the hearing following the two consecutive meetings in September which heard from protestors at length local councillors shared their frustration at the result and argued there remains uncertainty around the scheme who represents the Birchington South Ward on Thanet District Council said: “We’ve been fighting this for the last nine or 10 years “We thought we’d got to the point where maybe we’d got this over the line – after it got deferred last time we thought it was going to be rejected tonight I’m disappointed for residents in Birchington and I just want to apologise that we haven’t managed to get this rejected “It saddens me that Birchington’s going to be ruined forever.” Birchington parish councillor Nick Blankley added: “It’s very disappointing "The parish council didn’t accept the allocation of this land at the local plan but it accepts that it is now allocated." The scheme was narrowly passed by seven votes to six Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right Sign up to our What's On newsletter for a weekly email covering the best of Kent's food when what I was expecting to be a standard lunch turned into a truly unforgettable experience While exploring the beautiful seaside village which is said to be the largest of its kind in Kent As noon arrived and the usual stomach rumbles began to set in this seemed like the perfect spot for a light afternoon bite Perhaps what caught my attention about this spot was its simple but eye-catching exterior with the green and white colour scheme really setting it apart in the village square A brief glance at some online reviews before heading in told me that past guests hold this spot in very high regard Read more: Kent pub garden by a hidden gem beach that was worth the sunburn Read more: New Kent splash pool, with slides, water canons and aqua challenge With an impressive 4.5 star TripAdvisor rating to its name Fields has garnered quite the reputation thanks to its generous portion sizes affordable pricing and remarkable customer service The cake portions are ridiculously large so be prepared to take a box home.” A little bit more background digging and I found that the building itself has lived many different lives a Caribbean restaurant and a pub at different stages what stands now is a cosy and welcoming café bursting with charm Right away I was greeted by the incredibly friendly staff who offered me a menu and showed me to a table It’s almost impossible not to be relaxed here rustic interior making me feel at home immediately - I could’ve stayed for a nap I was that comfortable My hunger was taking much higher priority over any tiredness though and a scan of the menu had my mouth watering just about everything on the menu sounded delicious After arguing with myself over what to choose for a good few minutes I quickly ordered the chicken and pesto mayo sandwich before I could change my mind again I went with a simple can of Diet Coke to wash it down bringing my total to a very reasonable £8.75 The second my plate of food arrived I knew I’d gotten my money’s worth as the portion size truly lived up to the reviews This certainly wasn’t the light bite I'd initially planned to get for lunch but by no means is that a complaint Onto the food itself and the sandwich had me addicted from the first bite so rich in flavour and clearly freshly made it had the kind of brilliant quality you can expect from a family-run spot like this a classic lunchtime staple that’s always welcome on my plate and a refreshing salad that made me feel a little less guilty over the amount of mayo I’d eaten From the reviews it sounds like Fields is perhaps the best place to get cake in Birchington and I’d be lying if I said the whopping slices on display weren’t calling my name after I'd cleared my plate my very generous lunch serving had me stuffed to the gills and I think if I'd eaten any more the risk of me actually having that nap would have been far too high I’ve already got a day in my calendar to head back to Fields for a coffee and a slice because those cakes looked simply irresistible the next time you’re heading for a day out in Birchington or on the sands of Minnis Bay this café is one you need to check out before you go - just be ready to loosen a belt notch or two when you leave Find out more about things to do in Kent with our free What’s On email HERE. What do these beloved characters and franchises have in common You can find them all in one vibrant shop on the Kent coast that’s helping keep the comics and sci-fi community alive in the county Earlier this year, X-Dimension Comics and Collectibles opened its doors in the heart of Birchington-on-Sea, a charming seaside village sitting between Herne Bay and Thanet Owner and local resident Ben Watson launched the store on Station Road back in spring on May 11 having taken a huge amount of inspiration from his father Chatting to KentLive Ben explained: “My dad runs the comic store in Margate Read more: Pretty Kent village among 'poshest in Britain' where house prices are falling Read more: Kent's pretty commuter town that had its city status taken away “It feels like it’s taken a long time to be a success but it definitely is a success now for him there is more potential in this than I would’ve thought before "It's been a case that I’ve never really known what I want to do career-wise When I first said about setting up my own shop he was very supportive and encouraging of the idea and I’ve got to say I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him and him being able to help cover costs and provide extra stock.” Ben said the store “hit the ground running” seeing an encouraging number of customers from the get go customers can find just about anything relating to the world of comics From single issue comics and bigger graphic novels spanning across Marvel the collection of stock only continues to grow Ben says the store is still “doing really well” with a broad range of people passing through every day He went on: “I’ve already had the chance to make a good few regular customers Just since I’ve first started I’ve had lots of young guys asking ‘what would you recommend for my first comic to start reading?’ And to be in that position feels like an honour “I’ve had a lot of different customers that are happy to come back and have surprised me with what they’re interested in People are coming saying “oh you’ve got these old Beanos!” and they really like that kind of thing “There seems to be a lot of the older generation in Birchington and they're really up for that which feels like a surprise I’ve had people come in that are like grandmothers and grandfathers and they’re showing me their costumes from comic-con With a mixture of both new and old stocked at X-Dimensions Ben has worked to make sure that as many fandoms are catered to in store as possible He went on to explain that his dad’s business in Margate saw a large boom in success around 2020 which gave him hope for the future of stores like this in Kent when many others around the county had since been closing down maybe because people had a bit more time on their hands and they were looking for something to do returning to a hobby that they didn’t have time for The comic book movie boom definitely has helped but I don’t know if it still does right now because interest has waned and people are getting a bit bored of it “But it does still pull people in - the recent Deadpool and Wolverine film for example people have been coming in and looking for the books that are all to do with that when a new DC film comes out there is a bit of a spike Find out more about things to do in Kent with our free What’s On email HERE. Get the latest property market news straight to your inbox One Thanet village has been revealed to have more appeal to homeowners than any other in Kent according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Birchington-on-Sea has proved the most popular village for prospective buyers The charming seaside town sits between Reculver and Westgate-on-Sea It also has great access to the other great spots around Thanet and Canterbury Read more: Plans to extend one Kent Wetherspoons opening hours to early morning But why is it so popular with outright house buyers Local estate agent Glenn Pugh said: "I think the appeal is that it’s a nice coastal town The owner of independent estate agent Glenn and Co a lot of our clients come from the London area down here to retire but a large proportion of the population is what we would call cash buyers from London.” Glenn said the results of the data - which have come from the 2021 Census - do not surprise him He went on to claim that a lot of people he is aware of who look to buy in the area search for bungalows while data from Rightmove has confirmed detached properties are the most sought-after in the area Data from the property listing site also revealed the overall average price of a property in Birchington in the past 12 months was £377,000 Semi-detached homes sold for an average of £379,000 in the same period while terraced properties reached £332,000 “I think that probably bears out,” Glenn continued there are rental properties in Birchington but I would guess that the main population in Birchington is owner-occupied a lot of them are coming here to retire or moving for that purpose.” Glenn has 30 years of experience as an estate agent and opened Glenn and Co in 2001 to serve Birchington and the surrounding areas Rightmove added that the sales in the past 12 months contributed to a trend that saw property prices in Birchington increase 12 per cent on the previous year and 26 per cent on the 2018 peak of £300,000 The ONS data has been broken down on an interactive map into what it termed Middle Layer Super Output Layers (MSOAs) The map showed that at this level 59.5 per cent of properties in Birchington were owned outright while there were also 23 per cent of properties owned through a mortgage the rate of outright ownership varied from 12.8 per cent off Park Lane to 85.7 per cent near Kent Gardens 36.5 per cent of households were said to be owned outright Other popular areas in Kent where people own their properties outright included in Chestfield and South Tankerton where there was a rate of 59.1 per cent and Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliff at 58.8 per cent The data also showed at the same time that Tonbridge and Malling was the area with the highest rate of homes owned through mortgages and shared ownership schemes at 37.8 per cent Get more news from KentLive straight to your inbox for free HERE . With the promise of a potential heatwave on the way to Kent after a rather dreary start to June there’s never been a better time to get out and explore our beautiful coastline With so many beautiful beaches to pick from working out where is best to soak up some sun and sea is often no easy task this is a real seaside gem found in the quaint village of Birchington-on-Sea Read more: Kent seaside town named among the best holiday hotspots in the UK Read more: Birth of wildcat kittens sparks hope for UK's rarest mammal The unsung beach is also an incredibly popular spot for water sports the beach itself features gorgeous golden sands and even during the hottest summer days does not attract the same volume of crowds you can expect in the neighbouring seaside towns Minnis Bay is a fantastic spot to bring the kids for a day of building sandcastles and splashing around in the paddling pool and has seen high praise from families that have visited in the past Holding a TripAdvisor rating of 4.5 stars from nearly 300 reviews one past visitor said: “Such a lovely beach buckets and spades and other beachy items.” Another happy reviewer called it a ‘hidden gem’ and remarked: “Wonderful bay with great views I just sat as the tide came in and it pushed them within feet of me Keen swimmers will adore spending time in the clean sea which is also frequently mentioned in reviews and the beach is supported by a lifeguard service ensuring the safety of everyone who stops by Much like the rest of the surrounding area the beach is almost completely flat and is bordered by sand dunes For the avid cyclists out there, it's worth noting that you can pick up a 3.75 mile section of the Viking Coast Trail from Minnis Bay, and discover some of the beautiful Thanet coastline along the way to Margate Main Sands Nearby there are plenty of handy amenities that help make your trip as carefree as possible so you will never be far away from refreshments offering beautiful seaside vistas with a side of classic British cuisine You can wash your dish of choice down with a selection of wines Before heading out for your beach trip however it is important to check tide times as during high tide the majority of Minnis Bay is lost to the sea it's the perfect place to do some rock pooling and see what creatures you can discover Dogs are not allowed on the beach during the peak summer season between May 1 through to September 30 If you don’t fancy driving to the beach yourself then you’re in luck as Minnis Bay is served by an open-top bus during the summer Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.