Hundreds of people attended a meeting about plans to build a 250-acre freight terminal on green belt land.

Last week Kent Rail and Freight Terminal (KRAFT) publicly announced plans to transform 250 acres of green belt land near Borough Green into a huge freight hub, complete with its own road system, warehouses, mineral storage area, and "intermodal area" for transferring goods from rail to road and vice versa.

Protect Kent, that has also set up an action group - Stop BIG KRAFT - called the meeting on Thursday, October 22, at Wrotham School in Borough Green.

Around 450 residents attended.

Guest speaker Nick Herbert (pictured left), the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, outlined his vision for the countryside should the Conservatives be elected at the general election in 2010.

Deputy Director of Protect Kent, Sir John Stanley, MP for Tonbridge and Malling, also spoke about the new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) which has recently come into effect.

Paul Carter, leader of Kent County Council, stressed his opposition to the Borough Green proposal. He also promised to review the Borough Green bypass to ensure that it would not be used in order to support this latest idea.

He said: “I am very pleased that there was a general view that the scheme that was proposed as BIG was not acceptable in the Green Belt and in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I am also pleased that all the speakers condemned the IPC which greatly reduces the opportunity for local people to have a say in applications such as BIG.”

• Were you at the meeting? Do you have an opinion on KRAFT? Let us know your comments.