Plans to turn an old Gravesend hotel into a petrol station, M&S foodstore and a McDonald's Drive Thru have been quashed.

Permission for the BP-led development to be built on the old Tollgate Hotel site in Watling Street was granted in January but Simon Privett, owner of the nearby Tollgate Service Station swiftly lodged a judicial review to stop proceedings.

The matter has now been settled out of court and the application will be reconsidered by planners at Gravesham Council before Christmas.

A spokesman for Gravesham Council said: "Although the claim was accepted to be heard at the High Court, the council contested the claim but following legal advice the matter was settled out of court, on only one of the eight grounds claimed.

"The council paid the sum of £20,000 to Mr Privett to cover the court costs."

The council admitted it had not properly taken into account paragraph 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework - the paragraph notes what is acceptable in the Green Belt.