A TikTok influencer has asked her followers to support controversial plans to build 32 homes.

Mortgage adviser Saira Haider, who is based in Gravesend, regularly posts videos on the social media platform offering financial advice to others.

Last week the businesswoman, who has 150k followers, posted two clips backing recently revised plans for new homes on the site of Cobham Lodge in Valley Drive.

If approved, the proposals submitted to Gravesham council would see the existing £1 million four-bed property off the A2 converted into ten flats and an outbuilding made into two homes.

Also factored into the plot, which is next to Nell's Cafe, are proposals for a three-and-a-half storey block of flats, an additional detached home and a string of eight semi-detached houses, to provide an additional 19 homes.

It comes just two years after larger plans for 64 flats on-site dubbed "the worst planning application in history" by disgruntled neighbours, were rejected.

Encouraging her followers to back the revised scheme, Ms Haider, a property consultant, said: "You know there is that street in every area that has got big houses and then it leads straight up to the motorway.

"You've got the big houses at the top of the motorway and you look at them and think 'why the hell are those houses there, like they are serious money and they are huge and literally on a motorway?'

"Well I have a friend who has exactly that and what he decided to do was to convert the main housing into some flats and then at the back to build like a string of semis because they come with those big gardens.

"Anyway, first of all the neighbours moaned about it and he had to change his plans and they still didn't give him the planning.

"And then now he has put a proposal in but he needs support from people to say this is a really good idea."

The TikToker, whose two videos on the application have been viewed more than 30,000 times, added: "At the end of the day it's in a built up residential area and we all need houses right.

"So they are moaning about there not being enough houses but at the same time they make this whole planning journey really difficult.

"So if you could do me one big, big favour just follow this link that I'm going to attach... and go into there and give this guy some support.

"Because we want more property and that's what's going to help both sides, prices coming down and demand."

Speaking to KentOnline Ms Haider says although the applicant is a client she was not asked to post the videos and did not receive anything for doing so.

Instead, the property expert, who grew up in Gravesend but now lives in Ebbsfleet said she was backing the scheme as it was, in her view, well designed and would bring much needed homes and economic benefits to the area.

She said: "From my point of view I'm looking at the first time buyers coming to us for mortgages. There just isn't enough units.

"Looking at Gravesend and how it had developed and gone up in value you have a lot more people that want to live in the area."

However, residents and some councillors are concerned that if plans are approved the site could set a dangerous housebuilding precedent "to anyone with a big garden".

David Gingell, 76, has lived on Valley Drive for more than 40 years and has various different housing projects in the area.

He says the residents are not against development on-site but believe it must conform to the "character" of the surrounding area, which he says consists largely of houses and not flats.

"We are not being stuck in the mud and say no development, the world has changed and we accept that," the pensioner explained.

"But it should be in keeping with the area or at least tastefully done."

Teresa Higgins, 54, has also said she is "totally against" the current proposal and hit out at its promotion on social media platforms such as TikTok.

"The fact you need more flats and houses is trap," she said. There is stuff out there you could demolish and could builds flats on.

"Don't take one large house to make another set of flats and houses - it is bang out of order."

She added: "When I moved here 15 years ago all I wanted to do was build a small annexe to let my mum live in and did they let me do it? No they didn't."

Councillors voted unanimously to reject the previous plans in January 2020 which they deemed were "out of character" with the area,

It followed complaints from neighbours that the proposal would have created noise, disturbance, ruin privacy, bring increased traffic and lead to overcrowding.

However, in its revised bid, the applicant says it has "positively and proactively" engaged with council officers to address such concerns as part of its resubmission.

"A few years ago it was a completely different scheme," explained local businessman Ravinder Shetra, who is behind the bid.

"This time we have spoken to the neighbours before putting in the updated plans. I understand what the concerns were previously.

"We have now got gardens backing out on gardens and semi-detached homes that are good-sized."

The local businessman says issues about overlooking and its appearance had also been addressed as part of a lower-density scheme.

He added: "What we are proposing is elegant, luxury homes. It is not an eyesore.

"The site is very well screened, you can't see the neighbour's houses through the trees. We have taken any mitigation that is necessary very seriously."

"What we are proposing is elegant, luxury homes. It is not an eyesore."

Despite winning plaudits from some planners and councillors for the design and ambition of the previous scheme, he conceded "in hindsight" it "wasn't quite right" and was rightly refused.

"We held our hands up, that scheme was ahead of its time," he added.

"The planners said it would have been good but perhaps we were jumping the gun."

The applicant also addressed concerns about TikTok videos, adding that Ms Haider had done them of her own accord.

He said there had been "no traction" from the clips and the vast majority of the support lodged for the application had come before their circulation.

So far there has been 600 comments received on the planning portal with around two-thirds objecting (416) and just under a third supporting (184).

However, when the consultation ended on October 3 the balance was 157 in support to 83 objections.

Mr Shetra claims several of the subsequent comments on the planning portal are duplicates.

In his view many of the negative remarks online are hypocritical as neighbours have built houses in their back gardens since he bought the site 10 years ago, he claimed.

He believes the criticism is personal and does not factor in the work done to revise the plans.

"I'm a bit concerned because last time we suffered quite a lot of hate crime," he said.

"It was not nice what we had to suffer. It has become personal and detracts from what we want to do."