A FEUD between a council and a campaign group has come to a head - literally.

Urban Gravesham has superimposed the head of Gravesham Council leader Councillor Mike Snelling onto the body of a builder poised to tear up St Andrew’s Gardens, Gravesend, with a digger.

This is in protest against council plans to build on the green space, and the poster has been plastered across a shopfront in Queen Street.

News Shopper: Urban Gravesham's poster mocking Gravesham Council leader Councillor Mike Snelling

Cllr Snelling said: “This is a personal attack on me, which is pathetically childish.

“It is ironic that people who claim to be protecting Gravesend’s heritage seem to condone vandalism in this way.”

The council had warned Urban Gravesham it would take legal action against them for six other posters put up in Queen Street if they were not removed by yesterday (August 26).

These advertised a community day the group is holding in St Andrew’s Gardens on Monday (August 31), and it could have been fined up to £2,500 for each poster.

However, a council spokesman said the owners of the shop where the posters were placed had removed them by the deadline.

Speaking about the poster featuring Cllr Snelling, an Urban Gravesham spokeswoman said: “The important issue is whether we allow our open spaces to be built on.

“Not whether the council leader is upset by a campaign poster.”

In January the council scrapped plans for a 32-storey tower block in St Andrew’s Gardens after receiving a petition of opposition, organised by Urban Gravesham, with around 7,000 signatures.

News Shopper: The 32-storey tower proposed for St Andrew's Gardens, which was scrapped in January

However, there are still plans to build on the green space as part of a £150m redevelopment of the Heritage Quarter with developer Edinburgh House, which is currently working on new designs.

Cllr Snelling says the public will be consulted on these designs, as they were with the tower scheme, before the council decides whether to permit them.

Urban Gravesham vs Gravesham Council - The campaign group was established in January 2007 after the council and Edinburgh House announced plans for the redevelopment of the Heritage Quarter.

- Urban Gravesham stickers opposing the 32-storey tower are plastered on lampposts and street furniture in Gravesend at the end of 2008, leading to the council threatening the group with legal action.

- The council and Edinburgh House scrap plans for the tower in January this year.

- Following this, Urban Gravesham applies to Kent County Council (KCC) to have St Andrew’s Gardens designated a village green, which would bar any development on the land.

- Gravesham Council and Edinburgh House react by opposing the application. and KCC is yet to make a decision on it.

- Council officers try to shut down Urban Gravesham’s stall at the Big Day Out in July this year, saying only registered charities can have one. Police are called, but no action is taken against the group.

- Urban Gravesham posters, including one mocking council leader Councillor Mike Snelling, are plastered on a town centre shopfront in August, leading to the council threatening legal action.