A developer has hit back at claims made by a councillor that a former garage was ripped down without proper consent.

The derelict Adamsons Garage in West Street, Deal, was torn down over a weekend in January with work underway before 8am on both days.

Cllr Bill Gardner, who represents the area, was concerned planning permission had not been obtained along with a risk assessment into potentially hazardous substances on site such as underground fuel tanks and asbestos.

The correct paperwork has still not been obtained.

Developer Foster and Payne applied to the council to build a three-storey building containing 17 one and two-bedroom homes.

In April, it was rejected by the planning committee, which Cllr Gardner sits on; issues with the scale, design, parking and access were cited as reasons.

Rob Harley, a director at Foster and Payne, said permission had been sought before work began.

He said: “We have done everything as professionally as possible. Cllr Gardner is finding any excuse he can to stop the development going ahead.

“The reason we demolished the building quickly is because it was contaminated. We could have left it to get even more derelict, but the right thing to do was to clear it off the site.”

When demolition firm Goody was brought in to tear it down, Mr Harley said the underground fuel tanks were dug up and had been empty for about 50 years.

Asbestos was found buried under a large slab of concrete, but he said the deadly substance has been removed in accordance with the appropriate regulations.

Mr Harley said plans submitted to the council had been met with some objections because there was no provision for parking.

However, he said the council could not “throw it out” because it met the guidelines of local and national planning policies.

Cllr Gardner, of St Patrick’s Road in Deal, sent a newsletter to more than 400 homes in West Street, north Deal.

On council headed paper it said: “Dover District Council has been asking them nicely to fill and file all the paperwork to just get everything in place, shutting the stable door long after the horse disappeared, but they are still refusing to do so.

“My concern is what was on the site and why they rushed it so quickly to clear it all up”.