Hundreds of people have written a passionate letter to the council to block plans to build a massive housing estate on farmland.

More than 1,000 objectors have signed a community petition to stop the 1,250-home development near Riverside Country Park in Rainham, which they say would “take a wrecking ball to the character of the area”.

AC Goatham & Son, one of the UK’s major fruit farmers, has put in an initial proposal, called a scoping agreement, for land to the north of Rainham and Twydall.

Plans have been put on hold for an environmental impact assessment to be carried out.

But strong fears from people living in the area have been outlined to Richard Hicks, the council’s deputy chief executive who is in charge of environment and transformation.

In a letter penned by ward councillor Martin Potter and Ian Hookway, of the lobbying group Rainham North Activists, they said while they recognised the council had to fulfil its housing needs it should be focused on brownfield sites.

They describe it as “ a countryside oasis”, “an important green lung” and “vital green buffer” between Rainham, Twydall and Gillingham.

If allowed to go ahead, it would create a precedent and could lead to thousands more homes being built in the area.

It was also felt that existing amenities, such as schools, doctors surgeries, the hospital and infrastructure would not be able to cope with an influx of residents.

The letter concludes: “On behalf of our community we continue to urge the council to stand up for localism and to back us in ensuring Rainham remains a great place to live and enjoy life.”

The campaign to stop the development was backed by the late Cllr David Carr who passed away after suffering a stroke last month.

Alison Baldwin, spokesman for the company, said: “AC Goatham and Son are in the process of submitting a planning application to Medway Council in the near future.

“We are carefully considering the responses received by local residents during the consultation and feedback from the council before submission.”