Protesters fighting against plans for 1,600 new homes in a Kent village are celebrating a reprieve after developers failed to win approval for the controversial scheme last night. Ptarmigan Land had hoped to be given the green light for the sprawling estate on “prime farmland” in Birchington, near Margate, after Thanet District Council (TDC) recommended it be voted through. But following a heated debate stretching across two evenings, councillors defied the advice and refused to back the project, which has attracted more than 1,800 objections since being submitted four years ago. They instead …
