Water taxis could be the new way to travel between Kent and London.

The idea has been mooted as part of new plans for the regeneration of the Thames Gateway.

The new Parkland Vision - Kent's newly-appointed forward achitect Sir Terry Farrell's grand plan for the new housing development - would aim to revive the area's waterways, improve access to the green spaces and link the two to form a continuous link throughout north Kent, Medway and London.

New initiatives, including the introduction of water taxis, would form an integral part of linking up the different sections along the Thames and the Medway Canal, re-establishing links across the Estuary.

In 'Five Towns Make A City' - a report on Medway's regeneration specifically - Sir Terry referred to the River Medway as "a motorway-scale transport facility".

River taxis be an alternative way of travelling into the capital - but in theory could also be used commercially for freight.

Docks that no longer fulfill their original role would be transformed for other uses and ideas include play areas, sports facilities, public art, restaurants and museums.

Gravesend Town Pier, which has recently undergone a regeneration, is used as an example of the opportunities that exist for other piers to transform themselves into visitor attractions.

Housing minister Iain Wright said: "We need to make the most of all [the region's] unique assets, including waterways, cultural centres and historic sites."

A spokesman for the Kent Green Party questioned the extent to which water taxis would be used.

He said: "I think the principle is fine but the time it will take to get into London - which could be as much as two hours from Medway is going to mean it's more likely to attract leisure use than commuters.

"In the future there wil be high speed services going from Gravesend, which is one of the places it could be starting from. The effect of that would be to create very fast services into Central London. But, river taxis, being a lot slower, are much more likely to be attractive to people on leisure journeys of various kinds and other potential uses though, for instance educational trips for school children around the wind turbines of the London Array."