Developers have submitted formal applications to councillors to build new warehouses, offices and shops on farmland.

Proposals for 160,000 sq m of employment floorspace have been outlined for the site in Sevington, near Ashford.

It has long been rumoured that Amazon have expressed interest in setting up a distribution centre at the planned business park put forward by AXA DMI Friends Provident, although nothing has been confirmed.

A separate full application for part of the same land proposes relocating country clothing and hardware retailer Kent Wool Growers to a new premises there.

The shop would move from its base in Tannery Lane in the town centre to a new 5,239 sq m building, of which 873.7 sq m would be retail space.

The farmland to the north of Highfield Lane, behind St Mary’s Church, has been earmarked for employment space as part of the council’s local plan, outlining development goals to be reached by 2030.

Last year, developers AXA Real Estate Investment Management and DMI Properties submitted initial plans for a warehouse on the site with an alternative to Junction 10a, providing slip roads off the London-bound carriageway of the M20 and onto the coastbound side.

However, the Junction 10a scheme will now be carried forward by the Highways Agency in a separate application. No reference is made to it in either proposal submitted to the council this month.

A public consultation has begun giving people in the area the chance to submit their views on both applications via the Ashford Borough Council website.

No date has been set so far for the applications to go before the planning committee.

To view the submissions, visit planning.ashford.gov.uk, entering applications 14/00906/AS for the whole site and 14/00910/AS for the Kent Wool Growers development.