Plans to double the number of car boot sales held on an open field have been thrown out after concerns were raised over parking, litter and “urinating” punters.

Organisers of the Farmboys Country boot sale in Foxhounds Lane, Southfleet, applied for planning permission earlier this year to increase the number of fairs there from 14 to 28 between March and September 2025.

It followed a council-led enforcement investigation into the bootfairs which found the number of days when the land could be used for them had been exceeded.

An application was submitted to hold twice as many. However, on December 20, Dartford council refused the plans.

The decision notice letter states: “The proposed temporary use of the site for bootfairs is considered to be inappropriate development in the green belt and conflicts with the purposes of including land within it.

“No very special circumstances have been found to exist to outweigh this harm and other harms including harm to the rural character and appearance of the area, poor accessibility for pedestrians and by public transport and harm to residential amenities.”

In October, we reported how several people had voiced their opposition to the expansion amid fears it would lead to an increase in litter and fly-tipping.

Concerns were also raised about noise pollution and an already “nightmare” parking situation with others feeling strongly the excess events should not be permitted on green belt land.

Neighbours living close to the site said they feared their peaceful weekends could be disturbed and said the events were becoming “more invasive”.

In a letter to the council, they complained of stall holders queuing to get in and blocking the roads for up to an hour.

“It makes Foxhounds Lane completely unusable for local traffic,” they said.

“One of the access points to the site is on the junction of Foxhounds Lane and Park Corner Road, creating a dangerous access point.

“The bootfair needs to be held in a suitable location, not Foxhounds Lane.”

They also claimed to have provided evidence to the local authority of some drivers leaving their rubbish and parking on verges destroying the flowers and hedgerows.

One neighbour said they had witnessed people “urinating up our fence line”, with another agreeing.

However, many visitors who attend the “very popular” Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday events travel from as far as Rochester, Sidcup and Essex and they supported the planned increase, saying it was a great way to get fresh air and shop without “breaking the bank”.

One Gravesend resident said: “Family and friends look forward to this sale. With so many facilities and shops closed down in our area it's somewhere you can go to that doesn't cost a lot of money.”

Ronnie Mulock, organiser of the bootfair proposals, previously defended the application, and in additional correspondence lodged with the council’s planning team, he said: “We collect all litter in the lane once a sale is finished.

“On average this is a maximum 80 vehicle sale with a designated parking area with an attendant and two-way entrance with right of way for incoming vehicles to guarantee no queues.”

The bootfair boss also denied there was any noise from music, and that the generator on site could only be heard within 50ft of its location.

He declined to comment on the outcome of the planning application.