Plans to build homes on a former golf club could be on the brink of rejection after council planning officers recommended the scheme be rejected.

Developer Mark Quinn hopes to construct up to 570 new homes on the former Herne Bay Golf Club next to the Thanet Way, along with new businesses and a multi-million pound sports hub.

It would be the new home for the town’s hockey, cricket, football and tennis clubs.

The land has previously been the subject of speculation over a potential Tesco supermarket and a new site for Barton Court Grammar School, as well as applications for a new 90-room hotel and pub.

But this week Canterbury City Council officer Steve Musk’s report recommended refusing the application when the planning committee meets tonight.

He stated: “The economic benefits of the application would be outweighed by the harm caused by the location outside the urban area.

“It would represent an unsustainable form of development that would result in a physical and visual intrusion of development into the open countryside.

“It is considered that the proposed development would have a severe adverse impact on the local highway network, in particular due to the lack of capacity on the A291 through Herne and through Sturry.”

Mr Musk said the council had worries over the increased traffic leading to queues on roads such as the Old Thanet Way and Bullockstone Road.

He was also concerned the new homes would be “highly urban” and out of character. He said Quinn Estates has “failed to enter a legal agreement” to mitigate the potential impact of the scheme.

But developer Mark Quinn has vowed to fight to save his plans. He said the council’s local plan was out of date.

He believes his scheme does fit national policy guidelines, and has pledged £1.5m towards local road improvements.

He said: “This scheme is going to take land which was used by very few people, and turn it into a place used by thousands of children and adults each week.

“We already have interest from a care provider, pub chain, GP surgery and offices to bring 300 jobs almost immediately to the town.

“But they are not going to wait for two years. They will go somewhere else. This is Herne Bay’s golden moment.

It needs these jobs and sporting facilities to bring £20m into the local economy.

“It’s not my fault if the local plan is substantially late. My message to councillors is that it’s critical that this opportunity is not missed. There’s a danger this could be held up in a myriad of red tape.

“The people of Herne Bay have spoken overwhelmingly in favour of this development. It would be a shame if it didn’t happen.”

The recommendation has also frustrated the town’s sports teams. Cricket club chairman Giles Govier said: “I don’t understand the planners’ logic. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“They have the pitches and fields in Thanet, in Canterbury and in Whitstable, but Herne Bay is falling behind.”