Maidstone council is gearing up to officially oppose KIG for the first time.

The council's planning officers are urging councillors to refuse the Kent International Gateway application when they finally debate the proposal next Thursday.

Their comprehensive 222-page report cites 18 reasons why the proposal for a huge road/rail freight interchange across 285 acres at Bearsted should be rejected.

Chief among them is the officers’ belief that the development will not achieve its primary stated aim - that of shifting freight from road to rail.

Alison Broom, the council’s director of regeneration, said: "We do not believe that there will be any significant modal shift. The development will end up operating primarily as a regional distribution centre not a national one."

The effect would be that KIG would be served by as few as three trains a day, not the 19 predicted by the applicants, but the volume of HGV traffic would likely be 5,500 vehicles a day - not the 3,500 claimed by Kent International Gateway.

The council has received a total 6,000 representations from the public. Of those, just two were letters of support

At KIG’s request, the government has agreed to allow the application to be determined at a public inquiry, taking the decision away from Maidstone council.

But the borough will still hold a planning committee to determine what its view would have been, and the decision taken by members will form the basis of the council’s opposition at the public inquiry.

The planning committee will meet at the Maidstone Studios in New Cut Road, Grove Green.

The venue has been especially chosen to accommodate the large number of objectors expected to attend. The hall can seat 1,000. The meeting starts at 6pm.