A LEADING member of the community has accused the developers behind plans to build a freight hub of trying to bribe the people of Borough Green, Platt and Wrotham.

In a damming verdict, county councillor for Malling West Valerie Dagger said the plans would be "disastrous" for the village and everyone should "work together" to oppose them.

She added the consortium of developers was only planning to build part of the bypass.

"I can't see that the people of Borough Green are going to be bribed by this bypass when the outcome would be disastrous for Borough Green, Platt and Wrotham," she said.

"They are not providing the whole of the bypass, they are only providing part of it. We must all work together to see it never happens."

The freight hub is a 259-acre scheme proposed to be built on Green Belt land across the three villages.

A distribution park, huge warehouses – one of which is more than twice the size of the Millennium Stadium – and car parks are part of the initial plans.

Plans revealed in the Chronicle showed a bypass could be created to run from the A20, across the freight hub site and A227, before joining Kent County Council's proposed bypass.

The main players in the project, Cemex UK and Borough Green Sandpits, hope to lodge an outline planning application next year as a rival option to the hugely contentious Kent International Gateway rail and road interchange being fought for at Bearsted, near Maidstone.

A spokesman on behalf of the consortium of developers rejected Cllr Dagger's remarks.

Colin Wilkins, from Savills, told the Chronicle: "The project is in its infancy but it is our publicly expressed intention to deliver the bypass for Borough Green and Platt as part of the proposed rail freight and aggregates terminal.

"The bypass is an integral part of the project and not an add-on to appease local residents. The aim of the bypass is to alleviate Borough Green and Platt of the vast majority of heavy goods vehicles, making them safer villages for the local community.

"By taking a route for the bypass, different to the one proposed by Kent County Council, and connecting to the A20 at Wrotham Heath it has the potential to also reduce traffic movements in Wrotham."

Kent Highway Services has assured residents in the villages the county council is proceeding with planning permission for its own bypass, independent of the consortium's bid.

Spokesman Phil Scrivener said: "We are aware of the latest scheme that has been put in and we are discussing it with them."