A £6 million bid to build an Asda and 100 homes in Minster received a mixed response during a public exhibition.

The meeting at Thistle Hill Community Centre on Saturday was well attended, with nearly 200 people going along to see displays about the plans, which are earmarked for Plover Road.

Chris Stearns, of Abbey View Drive, Minster, said: “The fact that this Asda is being put there is fine.

“I think it will affect the store at Minster Road but that’s business.

“The problem is we are given something with one hand but then we end up getting a lot more taken away with the other.

“You get all these houses and cars and people and what does anybody get out of that apart from more clutter, more people?

“Nobody is thinking about the additional amenities in place.”

Mr Stearns, who wrote a protest song called Save Our Sheppey, against additional housing on the Island four years ago, added: “There’s no carrot at the end of this for the rest of the people that live here.”

He also questioned how many of the 120 jobs promised with the Asda store would go to Islanders.

David Harvey, associate director at DHA Planning, consultants working on behalf of landowner Dalemarch (Sheppey) Ltd on the project, said: “A lot of questionnaires were filled in which we are going through.

“There was quite a range of views. Some people were very positive, others not so much.

“There were a lot of people who welcomed the Asda and I think want to see shops in the area.

“On the other hand, other people said there were existing parking pressures on Plover Road.

“No planning application has been made at this stage so we are going to get a very good idea of what people want. Overall, we are very pleased.”

Last week, we reported on Asda’s pledge to work with Swale council and Jobcentre Plus in Sheerness to find roles for long-term unemployed on the Island.