Kingston’s Liberal Democrats have claimed rumours of a housing development planned on Chessington’s greenbelt proves they were not “scaremongering” when they started a petition against 70,000 homes last year.

The party made the claims after the Comet reported councillors had had meetings with developers eyeing up Chessington Golf Centre, in Garrison Lane, for 700 new homes – significantly less than the 70,000 touted by the party in 2014.

But Kingston leader of the Liberal Democrats Councillor Liz Green has stood by the claims.

She says this proves the Conservatives do have plans for massive developments on the outskirts of the borough.

Coun Green: “We said 70,000 homes because this was the only number we could find in the London First report about the funding of Crossrail 2. I do not know where the 700 homes number comes from, but it is the thin end of the wedge.

“It is a little bit of an ‘I told you so’. We are not necessarily starting [the petition] up again, but this is what we were saying [last year].”

Former Kingston and Surbiton MP Ed Davey started a Facebook group in March 2014 called: “Say no to 70,000 homes in Chessington” and a petition on the Kingston Liberal Democrat website was put up shortly after.

Council leader Kevin Davis told ward councillors two weeks ago that a developer “was interested” in building on the golf course, but has rubbished the Liberal Democrat claims that this proves the points the party were making last year about plans to build on Chessington’s greenbelt.

He said: “They don’t even realise there aren’t even 70,000 homes in the whole of Kingston.

“The scaremongering is unbelievable. I don’t know what they think they are playing at. It’s terrible really.

“In principle, I do not support building on the greenbelt, but there is not even a proposal at the moment.”

Chessington Golf Centre will close on Sunday, November 29.

Kingstonian’s chairman Mark Anderson has refused to rule out building a new football stadium for his club on Chessington’s greenbelt.

He made the comments in relation to the news Kingston Council had been approached for the second time by the developer who wanted to build 700 homes, a leisure centre and a football pitch at the Chessington Golf Centre site.

Mr Anderson said: “There is so much building going on in Kingston.

"We are interested in any available site, but in the real world there are a few options that we are looking at.

“We are having conversations with the council and we are having conversations about a ground share with another club.”

Kingstonian will have to leave Norbiton ground Kingsmeadow if AFC Wimbledon manage to sell it.