Calls have been made for the government to block plans for a multi-million-pound waterfront neighbourhood.

Around half the firms on land proposed for the Northfleet Harbourside development, near Gravesend, have signed an open letter to the new Secretary of State for the Department of Communities, Homes and Local Government, Angela Rayner.

Outline planning permission was granted by Gravesham council in May for the project - almost two years after they were submitted in October 2022.

To build the £40 million scheme, the existing buildings on the almost 50-acre brownfield site will be demolished while Galley Hill Road and Stonebridge Road will need to be realigned.

A retail village of around 40,000 sq m of shops, cafes, sports facilities, a nursery, medical services and community venues will be built in its place.

It will sit alongside a hotel, 3,500 homes, 18,000 sq m of office space, 2,600 parking spaces and a new 18,000 sq m football stadium with up to 8,000 seats.

This will almost double the capacity of the existing football ground, known as the Kuflink Stadium, which can currently hold 4,769 fans, and it is said it will secure the club’s long-term future.

However, the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce has said the scheme brings uncertainty for the companies already operating in the area, with some facing the likelihood of their premises being compulsorily purchased.

There are numerous businesses, from wholesalers to concrete suppliers, with warehouses, showrooms and workshops and workers in PPE, on the industrial estate off Stonebridge Road.

The chamber’s chief executive Tudor Price said: “We recognise there is a need to regenerate this part of Kent.

“However, the pressure to deliver new homes should not be at the expense of businesses already here, many of which are in industries that depend on the River Thames for their livelihood.

“We believe the council has failed to safeguard the protected wharf which is the lifeblood of many local businesses, especially those involved in creating building and road materials.

“It is our hope that Gravesham council will do what they said they would do and ask the Secretary of State to call in the application.

“We need a forensic examination of the proposals before a final decision is taken, one that recognises the interconnected relations that exist between the businesses already here.”

Mr Price added the plans might have an impact on several of the major businesses which are involved in aggregates, cement and heavy industry because they rely on significant numbers of lorries visiting their premises.

He said: “Should the land be compulsorily purchased, most of the businesses would find it impossible to find alternative premises in the local area. It would lead to their closure and the loss of hundreds of important manufacturing jobs for local residents.

“Developing new homes, shops and offices in such close proximity to heavy industry operating 24/7 with their noise, dust and smells do not make good bedfellows.

“The result is inevitably conflict with the new residents trying to impose their will on longstanding industrial businesses.”

The move by the chamber follows news that the land earmarked for the proposed London Resort theme park just a few miles away in Swanscombe has been put up for sale, effectively ending the prospect of it ever happening.

Mr Price added: “The chamber is an advocate for the creation of jobs, especially after all the years of undelivered promises that surrounded London Resort, the impact of Covid, high energy costs, interest rate rises and the economic slowdown, but such growth must be in an appropriate location if it is to have a long-term positive effect.

“That simply does not seem possible if Northfleet Harbourside goes ahead.

“We need to celebrate the area’s economic past and recognise that the Thames continues to play an important part in the industrial future of North Kent and the livelihoods of hundreds of people the local firms already employ.”

Gravesham council’s cabinet member for strategic environment, Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox, said the local authority’s intention is still to submit the application to the government for consideration.

He added: : “We are disappointed that Invicta Chamber of Commerce felt unable to bring their concerns directly to us.

“This application for outline permission had been active for some months before it went to our planning committee and we would have welcomed the opportunity to brief them on the considerable work going on to bring the Northfleet Harbourside project forward, allowing them to comment with a full understanding of the many complex issues involved.

“As it stands, following the unanimous and cross-party decision of our planning committee earlier this year, there is a resolution for the outline planning application to be granted consent subject to a number of conditions, submission of reserved matters, and the signing of a section 106 agreement, with positive progress having been made on that s106 agreement.

“Alongside that, the applicants continue to work and negotiate with the landowners and businesses within the boundaries of the application area with a view to reaching the agreements necessary for the project to proceed.

“Our intention remains to submit the application to the Secretary of State for consideration, and we anticipate being in a position to do so imminently.”

Despite the chamber’s concerns, councillors, neighbours and football fans alike have backed the scheme which received more than 300 letters of support and only 35 objections.

Following the decision, KentOnline spoke to those living and working in the area to see what they thought about what’s planned.

Thurka Murugaiyah, owner of Premier Mart, which is next to the plot that will be redeveloped, added: “I think it will be good for the business and the area. It will look different but I think it will be positive for Northfleet.”

The Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust aims to restore access and use of the harbour, in Grove Road, and reintroduce marine facilities to bring people back to the river.

Chairman of the charity, Conrad Broadley, added: “It is going to be positive. I think the fact it is named Northfleet Harbourside shows the intentions of the developers.

“Gravesham council and the developers have been good to make sure it includes the future of the harbour in the plans.

“It is very welcome. The harbour will be a focal point for Northfleet.”

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.

Currently only outline plans have been approved meaning the council has agreed the development is sound in principle.

Specific details on the layout and design of the development will have to be decided through further planning applications.

It is predicted construction work would take about 10 years.