An alternative plan has been put forward for a marina in Queenborough after it was dropped from a regeneration scheme.

Residents’ fears were confirmed last week after it was not included in a revised version of the £400m masterplan adopted by Swale council on November 12, 2010.

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which replaced the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), as the driving force behind the project in March 2012, has cited changing market circumstances since the masterplan was formulated for the changes.

Now a small group of concerned Islanders has come up with an “oven ready” plan it believes is a more financially viable and deliverable proposal for a marina to be built in the existing Queenborough Creek.

Up to 200 moorings would be created on floating pontoons and it would involve reclaiming some of the saltings and installing a new wall and floodgate to impound water.

The group said the cost would be £5.5 million, as opposed to the £7-9 million in the HCA plan, and could generate more than £500,000 a year in revenue, mainly through the berths but also other services such as boat repairs and storage, bars, cafes and restaurants.

The people behind the plan are David Orpin, a chartered civil engineer, Peter MacDonald of Minster Parish Council and Tim Bell, honorary life rear commodore of Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club and member of Queenborough Harbour Trust.

They believe a marina would play a vital part in the regeneration of Queenborough and Rushenden, attracting tourism from around the world, creating jobs and could as much as triple the value of homes nearby.

Mr Bell said its location in the Thames Estuary would make it ideal but presently many still prefer to sail an extra 20 miles there and back to Gillingham Marina because it has better facilities.

He said there is a high demand for additional moorings and the associated services.

In 2013, 1,500 boats from France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Sweden and America stayed at Queenborough, he added.

He said: “We feel that their reasons [for dropping the marina] are flawed and wrong because they are basing it on housing value.

“They need to look at a marina project separately. We feel that this could be a good investment and there is great potential in this cheaper alternative.

“We are calling on Swale council and the HCA to consider the idea. Getting rid of the marina is like throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

He added the regeneration was in danger of simply becoming more housing, something Islanders are fed up with, and there needed to be something in place to pay for the infrastructure to support additional homes.

Mr Orpin, who drew up the plans, said: “It’s a relatively straightforward civil engineering project and in the scheme of things £5.5m is not a lot of money.”

He said the plans for Peel Port’s transformation of Sheerness Docks, which we reported on last week, were “pie in the sky”.

And in comparison, the Queenborough marina idea could be started straight away.

The group is calling on Swale council to get behind its project in the same way it has supported the regeneration of Sittingbourne High Street.