A petition to abandon the council's Green Belt plans for the borough will be debated at a meeting next week.

It was signed by more than 2,500 people in response to Gravesham council's proposals for the Local Plan consultation to build 2,000 new homes.

It will be debated by the full council at a meeting on Tuesday.

Take our poll below

The petition says: "Gravesham council is considering options to remove 80 hectares of land from the Green Belt to allow 2,000 new homes to be built.

"These homes will not be affordable, and this will do nothing to address the problems faced by the residents of Gravesham – all it will do is attract more people to the area and put more strain on local services and infrastructure.

"We do not believe it is necessary to build 8,000 new dwellings to meet local need.

"We call on the council to reject government-imposed targets, and to focus on developing brownfield sites to provide affordable housing, where it is needed, and for the local people who need it.”

"Why should the people of Gravesham be forced to give up our Green Belt to make room for people from outside the Borough?" - Bob Lane

Bob Lane, who will present the petition, said: "We know from information provided by Gravesham that the majority of people who contributed towards Gravesham's population increase, on which the local housing target is based, do not come from Gravesham. They come from overseas and from other parts of the UK.

"So we do not need 8,000 new dwellings to meet local need – this number is an aspirational target generated by people with no connection to Gravesham.

"Why should the people of Gravesham be forced to give up our Green Belt to make room for people from outside the Borough?

"The Council say it has to release land from the Green Belt to meet the targets. I would argue that it cannot meet its targets without building on the many brownfield sites that stand empty, many with planning permissions that have been allowed to lapse.

"Gravesham’s declared strategy is to concentrate development on “underused, derelict, and previously developed land in the urban area of Gravesend and Northfleet”, i.e. brownfield land.

"We’ve heard the council plead that they cannot force developers to build on brownfield land.

"But how does releasing 80 hectares of land from the Green Belt encourage developers to build on brownfield land?"

Mr Lane continued, highlighting his worries that once Green Belt protection is removed "developers will pounce on the land", before asking what the council's plan of action is.

He also mentioned the "unique constraints" Gravesend has, including being bound the a river to the north, a RAMSAR site - which aims to conserve the wetlands in the area -, 15,000 homes set to be built on the western frontier, and surrounding metropolitan Green Belt.