Councillors have launched a petition asking for a new junction on the M20 to serve a proposed new housing development.

Plans have been put forward to build 450 homes on the former home of Aylesford Newsprint, as well as dedicating two thirds of the 100-acre site to commercial space.

The scheme, which also includes building a health centre, would redevelop the former paper mill after production ceased in early 2015. Plans for a school there were dropped from the masterplan shortly before Christmas.

But opposition is mounting against the proposals, with many pointing to the area’s infrastructure as being at “breaking point” and raising concerns about existing traffic.

Now, borough councillors Mike Parry-Waller and Ben Walker, for Larkfield and Ditton respectively, have launched a petition calling on Highways England and Kent County Council to consider an extra junction off the M20 to cater for the increase in cars and lorries.

They are calling for the intersection between junction 4 at Leybourne and junction 5 at Aylesford.

In a statement, the pair said: "It has been accepted by Kent Highways that roads in Aylesford, Ditton and Larkfield already exceed their capacity, blighting the lives of residents on a daily basis.

"This is unacceptable. Any development of the former Aylesford Newsprint site without sufficient highways improvements will exacerbate this current traffic disruption, leading to an unprecedented increase in traffic flows.

"The development of the former Aylesford Newsprint Site in one form or another is inevitable, undoubtably resulting in an increased number of traffic movements. We believe that by Highways England developing an additional junction, an optimal transport network with efficient movement of traffic will be established, minimising congestion."

Highways England previously indicated that an extra junction was unlikely to be an option.

Administrators KPMG took on the New Hythe Business Park after it closed in 2015, with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

But the developers say plans for the site will create more jobs than the paper mill and revitalise the area. A decision on the application is expected in January.

To view the petition, click here.