'China Gateway' protests planned

The planning application has been referred to the full council

Campaigners against an industrial development in Kent countryside have vowed to stage a series of protests.

The proposals involve turning 175 acres into a warehouse and distribution centre for Chinese electronics on Manston business park in Thanet.

A public meeting was held on Tuesday evening at which issues raised by the "China Gateway" were discussed.

Opponents claim it will affect local water supplies, destroy farm land and green space, and cause traffic chaos.

Local film-maker Norman Thomas, who organised the meeting, said it was so packed that people were being "turned away in their droves".

"I've never been at a public meeting in Thanet where there were so many angry people... the mood was for direct action, for protest," he said.

The environmental knock-on effects for Thanet are enormous, the benefits are nothing Norman Thomas

Mr Thomas said not one person at the event was in favour of the development, which will include two large 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 environmental knock-on effects for Thanet are enormous, the benefits are nothing," he told BBC Radio Kent.

"It's going to make a lot of money for the developers, it may make some money for Chinese businesses coming over here, it's going to mean nothing for the people of Thanet except for a very few insignificant jobs because it's a warehousing operation, but it is going to mean what is an environmental catastrophe."

In a statement, Thanet District Council said it was "well aware of the strong public interest" in the application and the issues that have been raised.

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