ANY move to build an airport at Cliffe could become mired in legal disputes stretching over years, Kent county councillors have warned.

The prediction came as KCC's ruling Conservative cabinet formally confirmed its opposition to the option of the four-runway airport.

KCC's cabinet unanimously backed a report which said that the Cliffe option was not a practical, viable or environmentally acceptable option for resolving growing demand for extra air capacity.

It cited the huge costs estimated at £3billion more than forecast and the likelihood that it would not be possible to open an airport until 2025 as chief reasons for rejecting the Government's option. Instead, KCC has argued the Government should consider a strategy of developing the three London airports at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted in phases.

County planning chiefs said that would enable airports to be more flexible when it came to expanding. Strategic planning chief Pete Raine said: "The advantage of our solution is its inherent flexibility. We are suggesting building one runway at a time. Cliffe, with four runways, is a large-scale option which risks leaving spare capacity if the predictions are wrong."

Cllr Alex King (Con) warned that the ensuing legal wrangle, should Cliffe go ahead, would put a blight on the county for between five and eight years.

Cabinet member Cllr Peter Lake was critical of KCC's decision to challenge the Government in the court over its exclusion of Gatwick from its options.

"We have stirred Gatwick and Surrey unnecessarily and we are catching the backlash," he said. The consultation period over the airport strategy for the South East ends on November 30.