A cinema complex and ten pin bowling centre could be built in Sittingbourne as part of a £30 million development at the old paper mill site.

London-based property firm Essential Land unveiled the leisure facilities in its outline proposals for the site, off Milton Road, when it launched the start of a public consultation yesterday.

The plans also include up to 200 homes focusing on family-sized accommodation, a retail superstore providing food and non-food items, a community building and museum to commemorate the history of the Paper Mill.

There would also be improved links including new cycle and pedestrian routes alongside Milton Creek and improved access between the site and the town centre, the full reopening of the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway service plus a waterside park alongside Milton Creek transforming the old docklands into a destination for local people and tourists.

Leaflets about the proposals, consultation process and forthcoming public exhibition in November will be posted through letterboxes over the coming weeks and residents will also be asked to complete a questionnaire.

Pages on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter have also been set up so participants can interact with the consultation team by taking part in online discussions, post comments and contribute to surveys and polls.

People can also visit a dedicated website to take part in the consultation process.

All of the feedback received will be reviewed and where appropriate incorporated into the planning application.

Scott Hammond (pictured), partner at Essential Land, said, "We are providing a thorough consultation which both encourages and facilitates participation.

"With a strong focus on leisure we wanted to engage with younger members of the community that are less inclined to write letters or attend exhibitions and are confident that social media will enable us to do so."

The mixed use development at the old paper mill site is expected to create 300 construction jobs and a further 400 jobs once the site is completed.

While the vision for the site is subject to receiving planning permission from Swale council, Scott Hammond, partner of Essential Land which owns the site, says he is confident the development will go ahead.

Speaking exclusively to the Sittingbourne Messenger he said: "We wouldn't have moved into this acquisition with private money unless we felt it was deliverable and commercially viable.

"We are obviously dependent on getting planning permission. Without it we cannot do anything with the site. We own the site, we are not subject to third party ownership or negotiations, we own it outright and on that basis we have to move forward and deliver it, we can't afford to sit on it."

A number of parties have already shown an interest in setting up shop there. "We're at a fairly advanced stage with one party and we should be able to reveal who that is in the next few weeks," said Mr Hammond.

Demolition work has already began at the site and assessments on flooding and noise as well as an ecology survey have also been carried out.

Scott, who was born in Canterbury and whose parents live in Faversham where he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar school, said: "I know the area very well, it's got good commuter links to London and it's missed out on a lot of regeneration that's come forward.

"We have done some local canvassing and with our presence on site we've had some feedback. We've also attended local engagement forum meetings. Residents want to see something happen. We are hopeful they are going to engage with us and help us bring forward an exciting project to do the job for the local economy.

"The consultation will be ongoing up until the application is submitted either towards the end of the year or beginning of next year.

"We are excited to get to this stage to engage through the consultation exercise and really hope the local community chooses to get involved with us."

Essential Land bought the site from Finnish paper company M-Real for £5.65 million in June.