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It is D-Day for KIG.

The public consultation into plans for a 264-acre road-rail depot at Bearsted ends today.

It was revealed at a campaign meeting this week that Kent International Gateway and its financial backer, AXA, want to bypass Maidstone council's planning committee and take the plan straight to a government inspector on appeal.

The inspector will only have to take letters received before today's deadline into consideration.

Email your views to Steve Clarke at Maidstone council at KIGcomments@maidstone.gov.uk

Cllr Richard Jacques, representing 15 parish councils around the KIG site, called it “the most important bit of democracy you will ever undertake”.

Maidstone council will still continue to listen to residents' views, and will still debate the plan whether or not the decision is left to a government inspector.

Until Monday's meeting councillors had not spoken out against the depot because of legal advice, which urged the council to remain impartial until a formal debate is held.

But that silence was broken at the StopKIG meeting, when Cllr Dan Daley (Lib Dem), a former cabinet member, described the depot as "absolute nonsense".

"Once permission has been granted this land will be blighted for ever and they will sell the land off for something else. This whole concept of a road/rail interchange is a smokescreen,” he said.

If the council as a whole decides to oppose KIG, it would be able to give evidence against the plan to the government inspector during the appeal.

KIG made the appeal on the grounds that Maidstone council has taken too long to make a decision on the depot plan.

But there was doubt at the meeting whether the appeal would be allowed by the planning inspectorate since an order from the Highways Authority is still in force preventing Maidstone council from approving the application – even if it wanted to – before June.

Richard Knox-Johnston, Kent chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “AXA has taken a calculated risk. It knows the parish councils are against KIG and the county council is against KIG. AXA knows the borough council is likely to vote against KIG. But has someone in the government tipped it the wink that an appeal will be approved?”

If the appeal is confirmed, an inspector could be appointed within a week. The full hearing would take place in the summer, with a decision within a year.

See this week's Kent Messenger for the full story.