THE proposed development, which runs westwards from Junction 8 (Leeds Castle) on the M20 to Thurnham Lane, Bearsted, has been submitted by Kent International Gateway (KIG), the new name for Hollingbourne Business Park Ltd.

The countryside site could eventually contain up to 382,000sq metres of warehousing, distribution space and office accommodation. Lorries would access it from the A20, close to the junction 8 roundabout.

KIG says the depot could create up to 3,000 jobs. It predicts 12 trains a day would use the terminal, which would handle an estimated 200,000 containers a year, or 548 every day.

In its proposal, announced on Monday April 16, KIG claims the depot would benefit the area by "taking thousands of lorry movements off the roads of Kent, both to the east and west of Maidstone".

It adds: "It is estimated that up to 3,000 jobs will be created in a variety of warehousing, office and related industries.

"The size of the site enables large, new buildings to be created in a landscaped environment, away from residential areas, and will reduce the pressure on areas less able to meet modern requirements." It also promises public transport improvements.

The depot would be built in 11 phases, starting with ecological work and ending with the building of warehouses. KIG has not said how long the construction work would take.

The company claims the proposals fit with the Government's wish to encourage a shift from road to rail transport, and is also in accord with a Maidstone Council's strategy which had identified the land as a development search area.

KIG spokesman Stephen Messenger said: "We've made particular efforts to ensure the design and landscaping is of the highest quality. We're keen to hear the views of local residents before submitting a planning application."

The site

The plan covers 264 acres of open farmland, the equivalent of 150 football pitches, between Thurnham Lane, Bearsted, and junction eight of the M20 at Hollingbourne. It straddles both sides of the railway and will have freighting yards where trains can be loaded and unloaded.

It will link to the Maidstone East line, but it is not proposed to link with the new high-speed rail link which runs to the north of the motorway.

The site is open farmland and woods. It is crossed north to south by Water Lane, Thurnham, and Crismill Lane, Bearsted, as well as several watercourses. It includes the Grade II listed Barty Farmhouse, which dates from the 17th century.

Part of the site is protected, as it falls within the Medway Strategic Gap, an area of countryside that should not be developed to ensure that Maidstone and the Medway Towns do not merge into one urban area.

KIG says it chose the Bearsted site for its road-rail interchange after considering 114 others across the South East. It says of 24 shortlisted sites Bearsted had proved to be the best because of the existing links to the M20 and rail network.

It said landscaped mounds would be created on the edges of the site to hide the depot. Views of the site from the north, on the high ground of the Downs, would be screened by woodland blocks on the edge of the motorway.

Wildlife

KIG has been conducting wildlife surveys on the land since 2004. These have found considerable levels of wildlife present including badgers, six species of bat and 11 species of birds, classified as being of conservation concern as well as slow-worms and great crested newts.In its proposals, Kent International Gateway suggests measures which may be used to mitigate the effect on wildlife.

Ray Lewis, from Kent Wildlife Trust, said although the proposed development did not appear to directly affect any sites designated for wildlife interest, the group would still be looking closely at the potential impacts – and any possible benefits.

He added: "The trust is also very much aware that development on this scale will have a major impact on the landscape and on places where people live and work. While the trust normally only comments on issues directly affecting wildlife, we would still expect the planning authority to fully assess any impact on landscape and on local quality of life."

The company

KENT International Gateway, based in Brighton, is a partnership company between AXA Real Estate Investment Managers and DMI Properties.

AXA REIM is described on its website as one of Europe's largest and most diversified real estate investment management businesses with assets of more than 35 billion Euros under management and 430 staff in 10 offices in 15 countries.

DMI Properties is based in Westerham.

Timetable

A REQUEST for a "scoping opinion" from Maidstone Borough Council has been made by KIG. This is a preliminary stage before an official planning application is made, possibly at the end of May.

In order to progress its proposals KIG will either have to submit a planning application or attempt to get the depot included in a document which sets out the council’s long-term plans for the borough, known as the Local Development Framework.

The rail/road interchange has already been discussed at a public examination for the South East Plan, when Maidstone council made clear its objections.

The council’s assistant director of development, Brian Morgan, gave evidence that the proposal was in the wrong place and that there was no need for it. At the time the Strategic Rail Authority advised that inter-modal freight depots of this type should be on the M25.