Dartford is likely to break away from Kent to join the capital as a London borough, according to a planning expert.

The academic, named as one of planning industry’s most influential people, has announced following years of research that it is time for the capital’s boundaries to be redrawn, and to encompass Dartford as part of the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Dartford Borough Council leader Jeremy Kite – who would lose his job if such a change were to occur – has dismissed the scholar as “talking rubbish”.

Professor Paul Cheshire from the London School of Economics argues that including the area would help solve the housing crisis and improve transport links between London and Dartford.

The logic is that it would eliminate conflicts of interest between the GLA and Dartford Borough Council, encouraging a more strategic approach to planning.

These remarks come as Dartford was recently named as the most popular destination for house-buyers moving out of London by Hamptons International Estate Agents.

He told the Messenger: “The boundaries of London have been expanding for 500 years and from time to time it makes economic sense to expand them further. 1965 was the last time it happened.

“I have done research that demonstrates reasonably powerfully that the economic reality is that towns perform better and grow faster in London.

“There are good, logical reasons for why that should be. For example, where we have fragmented authorities they feel that they need to compete against each other. Whereas when you look at London you find more co-operation.

“The other reason London boroughs perform better is because of transport systems. Increasingly, as people move out from London, people’s commutes to the capital are spreading outside of the Greater London Authority (GLA) boundaries. More and more people are travelling into London from Dartford for work."

The London boundaries have been expanding since the Romans first founded the city of Londinium along the River Thames. At the end of the 19th century, the Victorians drew a much large boundary called The County of London, which was expanded again even further in 1965 with the creation of Greater London – which saw the previously Kent towns of Bromley and Bexley become boroughs of the capital.

Now, Prof Cheshire is convinced that it is necessary to expand once more to “meet the economic reality of the 21st century”.

“Dartford is already part of London economically speaking. We need to have boundaries that reflect economic reality, which they currently do not.

"Nothing will change before the general election, but probably by the end of the 2020s."

But council leader Jeremy Kite strongly takes issue with the professor’s vision for Dartford’s future.

He said: “This sort of thing comes around every two or three years and this strikes me to be the view of one person. I don’t know who he is or whether he is trying to be controversial, but residents just hate the idea.

“There is this terrible view that everything has to be academic and people don’t matter, and that everything should be worked out in some laboratory. That isn’t the way life is.

“The simple fact is it doesn’t change anything. He can’t move Dartford – no matter how clever he is.

“He doesn’t even have the benefit of having the GLA agree with him,” he said – referring to comments made by deputy mayor of London Edward Lister on BBC TV programme Inside Out.

He also argued that changing the boundaries would actually make the housing crisis worse because the GLA would “take a London approach to everything”.

“We aren’t going to share our waiting list for social housing with the whole of London – it’s simply ridiculous.

“97.5% of houses in Dartford go to Dartford residents at the moment. I want to protect that.

Addressing Prof Cheshire point that the current boundaries create a lack of co-operation between the GLA and neighbouring local councils, Cllr Kite said: “He is talking rubbish. He may not know about it all but there is an immense amount of co-operation with the GLA. We have recently introduced the use of oyster cards on Dartford transport.

"The administrative boundaries will be redefined – it is going to happen." - Prof Paul Cheshire

“I meet with colleagues regularly in London ... I travel up to city hall and talk about issues often.”

An example of co-operation the councillor cited is the Thames Gateway Strategic Group, which he said he attends three or four times a year.

Reacting to comments made by Cllr Kite on BBC Radio Kent on Tuesday that the idea would not be supported by Dartford residents, Prof Cheshire told the Messenger: “Well he would say that, wouldn’t he? As he would be out of a job. When the boundaries changed in the 1960s there was also opposition.

“I realise that this matters to the population of Dartford, but there would be benefits over time.

“This is simply a reaction to changing patterns of employment, usage of public transport, and rising prosperity. The administrative boundaries will be redefined – it is going to happen.