A petrol station could still be built on the site of the former Tollgate Hotel as the council prepares to consider a new application.

BP has submitted a second proposal for the unused land just off the A2 at Gravesend, after more than two years of court hearings and disputes with residents and rival businesses.

The oil and gas giant had its initial plans for a combined 18-pump petrol station, M&S Simply Food Store and drive-thru McDonald’s quashed on Friday, March 18.

But, just days before the decision in the High Court, BP submitted a separate planning application.

The new plans, if passed, would see the 2.5-acre site become a BP Connect petrol station only, with half the land kept for future development.

This has already sparked letters of objection from customers at the Shell Tollgate Service Station, which is just yards away from the hotel site.

Simon Privett is the owner of the Shell station.

He was a prominent campaigner against the first planning proposal and said: “There will be no stopping a McDonald’s. In the future it could run simultaneously with a new petrol station.

“By stopping them in the first place we only filled a hole, but there are still more holes to be filled.”

The council has requested full details of the plans, including the amount of green space left over.

In the meantime, Mr Privett is getting ready to give his petrol station a £700,000 transformation that will see the arrival of fast-food franchise Favourite Chicken to add to the Subway chain already on offer.

He said: “There is simply no need for another petrol station. It will affect parking – we already have a petrol station, so there is clearly no demand for one – and we’re making ours better, so where’s the need?”

Councillors will consider the application in the autumn.

Another application has also been made for land between a restaurant and a supermarket to be turned into a business centre.