Worried residents have made impassioned pleas against a proposed development, saying they want to keep their 'Hi-de-Hi’ way of life.

More than 200 people packed into Leysdown village hall to discuss a proposal for 160 new homes and employment space on 11 acres of land at the nearby Harts Holiday Park.

Parish councillor Joe Brown says people don’t want any development which will affect their way of life and change the charachter of the eastern end of the Island.

Cllr Brown, who runs an amusement arcade in The Promenade, Leysdown, said: “This Island is stuck in the 1960s – and that is what everyone likes about it.

“Leysdown is just like the smash hit TV series 'Hi-de Hi” which was set in a holiday camp – and that is how we want to stay. We like it that way.”

Resident after resident slammed the proposals by Park Holidays, which owns the Harts camp, off Park Avenue.

Ian Butter, head of consultancy at Rural Solutions, acting on behalf of the company, was at the two-hour meeting on Tuesday of last week which heard 450 people had signed a petition condemning the scheme in just a few days.

He said: “This will not be the salvation for Leysdown but it’s a start. Something has to be done to kick-start communities like this because you are in a sustainability trap. There is nothing set in stone because it is just a proposal at this stage.

“I live in Blackpool which is a bit like Leysdown but far bigger. We have seen a dramatic fall in visitor numbers from 20 million people 10 years ago to just nine million now.

“The plan is to build the homes, including 43 affordable houses, on 11 of the park’s 32 acres. The development would be on the older part of the site where there are many derelict chalets and several coming to the end of their leases. There will be more houses on Sheppey whether you like it or not.

“The older chalets on the park are not a good holiday product and the industry has to move on.

“Leysdown will get less peaks and troughs if the development goes ahead because there will be more people here all the time which is good for local businesses. They will all need to buy their milk and local papers from the shops.”

For the full story, see this week's Times Guardian