Plans to build a £30 million power plant in Kemsley, less than a mile from a similar facility, have angered residents.

4Evergreen Technologies is seeking to create the plant, off Barge Way, which would convert organic waste into energy that could be used to power up to 20,000 homes.

But it would be just 0.9 miles from the £118m Ridham Dock biomass power plant, due to be operational by the end of March, raising concerns about increased traffic at the nearby Grovehurst roundabout.

If it goes ahead, The Garden of England Energy Project at Kemsley Fields Business Park, north of the Morrisons distribution centre, could create 20 new jobs.

It will involve new buildings to house the plant and its equipment, offices, external storage tanks and a discharge stack.

The plant will combine renewable and sustainable technology which will convert waste such as paper into energy. More than 1.5 million tons of this waste are currently exported abroad which equals 2,000 gigawatt hours in lost power generation for the UK.

If approved, the site would be operational 18 months from the start of construction.

However, concerns have been raised about increased congestion on the nearby Grovehurst roundabout, as the new plant will require approximately 10 HGV deliveries of fuel a day.

James Hunt, chairman of Iwade parish council, revealed officials had met representatives from 4Evergreen technologies to discuss the issues.

He said: “When we discuss the plans at our meeting next week the impact the plant will have on the roundabouts is something we’ll be looking at.

“A lot of planning applications at Kemsley Business Park and Ridham Dock have been submitted over the last few years, and due to the nature of the businesses each new development means more lorries using these roundabouts.

“In Swale council’s draft Local Plan it is recognised the junction is near capacity but each time a planning application is submitted it is only looked at how many vehicles will use the junction from that particular development, whereas the cumulative impacts of all the vehicles using the roads needs to be considered.

“Not only is it causing congestion at the junction for residents, but the businesses in the area also suffer as the longer they are stuck in traffic the more money they are losing.”