Campaigners opposed to the KIG road/rail freight depot at Bearsted are preparing their latest objections to the plan.

Supporters and objectors to the 264 acre road-rail freight depot proposed by Kent International Gateway have three weeks to send their views to Maidstone council.

It comes after Maidstone council last week published new details about the KIG plan, including reports into the need for such a large depot and its affect on Kent's roads.

The new details are added to what was already the bulkiest set of planning documents ever submitted to the council.

More details about the KIG plan are available in our special feature, here.

In the latest reports, KIG argues that the depot would not add to the amount of lorries on Kent's roads. Instead, it would make the movement of freight through the council more "efficient".

KIG also say that there will be an increased need for warehouse space in the South East in the coming years, and say KIG could meet up to a fifth of that demand.

But in this week's Kent Messenger, campaigners say that it is still the wrong solution in the wrong place and have criticised KIG and its financial backer, AXA.

Richard Horton, chairman of StopKIG said:"AXA is using the moral high ground of getting freight off road and on to rail to promote this application for a rail freight interchange and commercial development, but of course developers are prompted by profit, not altruism.

“Because of the political aspect, it is even more important for people to consider the new information and to register their views with the Maidstone council, even if they did so before."

AXA did not respond to the Kent Messenger’s requests for a comment.

Don't miss the full report in this Friday's Kent Messenger.