Campaigners celebrated the decision not to build flats at Dovers Corner in Rainham on Monday morning, but there is still uncertainty about the future of the site.

As the handful of campaigners gathered to celebrate the decision by Weston Homes not to build, concerns were raised by business owners who had expected to be selling up shortly.

Weston Homes announced last week that due to a cut in government subsidy the development was no longer commercially viable.

Cllr Jeffrey Tucker (Independent Residents’ Group, Rainham and Wennington), who was with the campaigners, said: “I’m over the moon, its fantastic news for residents. But I also have a duty to represent business owners who the decision affects, and see what can be done for them.”

He said that the decision is a blow to many businesses on the Dovers Corner Industrial Estate whose roads and buildings have been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair as they expected to be closing them soon.

One business owner told the Recorder: “Most of the buildings here are falling down, half the sites here are now empty. People have given up on it.

“A couple closed down last year as they thought they were getting the money from the developer which they thought would pay for their retirement. Others are just piles of rubble.

“Leaseholders could only offer short-term leases on their units have lost an awful lot of money.”

He said freeholders will look again at selling their land on the open market.

Graham Williamson, from the Adamsgate Action Group, said that no development like the one Weston Homes proposed would be economically viable as the developer had had to promise to install flood protection measures, traffic lights and other measures to make it ‘sustainable’.

He added: “We support the development of that site for business, it’s been that way for many years. We would call on the council to help regenerate the area for business.”