Proposals to build a Waitrose and Debenhams on the edge of Maidstone are fully dead in the water after the developers behind the scheme announced they will not appeal the council’s rejection of their plans.

Maidstone council refused planning permission for the £85m redevelopment of Newnham Court Shopping Village back in June, put forward by Land Securities.

The FTSE100 giant said its proposals would create 1,500 jobs at the site adjacent to the Next store in Eclipse Park, by Junction 7 of the M20.

However, campaigners said the scheme would take shoppers out of the town centre and cause traffic problems at an already busy junction.

Lib Dem Cllr Tony Harwood said at the time it “could not be any more gruesome or any more over-bearing”.

In a statement confirming its decision not to lodge an appeal, Land Securities said: “The exciting scheme would have seen Debenhams make its debut in Maidstone, Waitrose add its much-loved supermarket brand, Notcutts garden centre move into a larger, more modern site and the addition of a number of smaller high-quality stores.

“Land Securities told the committee that it would recruit local people for the development, having already had preliminary talks with Jobcentre Plus and MidKent College to discuss recruitment and training opportunities.”

Council spokesman Roger Adley said: “The date for an appeal has just passed and we have not been informed by the planning inspectorate that the applicant has appealed.”