by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The Prime Minister has grounded a controversial proposal for an estuary airport off Medway that would have created thousands of jobs.

Medway Council welcomed comments by David Cameron that the government had no plans to back the idea promoted by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

However, the PM's words did not rule out the plan for all time, and the council called on the Mayor to "publicly drop his madcap airport schemes for good".

Dubbed Boris Island, the airport would have relieved congestion at Heathrow and other London airports - a useful political gain for the Mayor - but would have cost billions of pounds and taken many years to build.

There were also serious environmental and safety concerns.

Councillors were always incensed that Mayor Johnson made his comments without consulting local people.

In a statement, the council said the announcement "sends a clear signal to the Mayor of London that he should stick to running London and stop causing unnecessary worry for those living in Medway and north Kent."

Council leader Rodney Chambers said: "This news will provide some comfort for the people of Medway whose homes and lives are already being affected by this harebrained scheme.

"But we will not rest until Boris Johnson publicly drops his madcap airport schemes for good."

However, several business leaders had backed the idea, claiming it would boost the Medway and Kent economy by creating thousands of jobs and generating business for local firms for years to come.

Mike Lazenby, chief executive of Chatham-based Kent Reliance Building Society, said today that although he had previously supported the scheme, he now accepted that a majority of people were against it.

"The people have had their say," he said. "There are pluses and minuses for the airport. I have supported it in the past.

"Although it would create jobs, I understand why a lot of people didn't wan't to have it in Kent.

"At the end of the day, democracy is about people having their say. I think that's the end of it."