Gallagher Properties has lost an appeal in the High Court over its plans to build a warehouse and industrial complex at Waterside Park, near junction 8 of the M20 at Hollingbourne.

The company’s plans were initially rejected by Maidstone council and so the firm appealed to the Government.

Last May, the after a public inquiry, the planning inspector, Katie Peerless, upheld the borough's decision, rejecting both the initial application and a modified version.

In the autumn, Gallagher Properties filed an appeal in the High Court against the inspector’s decision, with their barrister Craig Howell-Williams again arguing that the site was ripe for development. But on Wednesday this week, the judge dismissed the appeals and upheld the borough’s decision.

Mary Richards, secretary of the Bearsted and Thurnham Society, which was one of the many local organisations opposed to the applications, said: "It is particularly heartening to see that when Maidstone councillors screw their courage to the sticking place and reject the planning applications that their officers wish them to grant, their courageous decisions can win the day.

“The judge at the hearing specifically mentioned the large amount of opposition to these applications, as indeed had the inspector, so it is clearly worthwhile for the community to make its views known in large numbers.”