Thanet 'China Gateway' under fire

The planning application has been referred to the full council

Campaigners against a plan that could bring hundreds of jobs to Thanet have called an emergency public meeting.

The proposals involve turning 175 acres of countryside into a huge warehousing development for Chinese electronics on Manston business park.

Opponents claim it will affect the area's water supplies and destroy farming land and have called a meeting in Broadstairs on 9 September.

A special meeting of Thanet Council will decide on the plan on 9 October.

Leading the anti-development campaign is Kent film-maker Christine Tongue.

She said: "This is a huge project which has far-reaching implications for the environment and economy of Thanet.

We can't sleep-walk into this Christine Tongue

"It is absolutely critical that everyone understands the issues involved and what's at stake.

"The plan involves building a vast industrial development on one of Thanet's aquifers - one of the main sources of our drinking water.

"It has huge implications for traffic. And it will change the landscape of the island irreparably.

"All these issues must be discussed. We can't sleep-walk into this."

The Kent branch of the Campaign to Preserve Rural England has also expressed concern over the development.

It says the application is "deeply undemocratic as councillors are in effect being asked to prejudge a much larger development which will have far-reaching environmental impacts that have never been properly tested."

The initial application is for two distribution buildings, a Gateway building, to act as a showroom for the goods produced at the site, along with 18 other employment units, two amenity blocks and a restaurant.

The plans were considered by the council's planning committee on 20 August, but they referred them to the full council, due to the scale and importance of the development.

Chief Executive Richard Samuel said: "This is an important issue for Thanet and the council is well aware of the strong public interest in this application."