Work to demolish a historic building to make way for 34 flats is finally set to get underway after years of delays.

Swanton House, next to Ashford College in Elwick Road, has been vacant for more than two decades, but is due to be replaced by two new blocks up to four storeys high.

Although planning permission for the scheme was granted in December 2021, there have been years of delay due to nutrient-neutrality issues at Stodmarsh Nature Reserve.

Natural England advice issued in 2020 has required all new developments in the River Stour catchment to achieve nutrient neutrality, following concerns nitrates and phosphates were damaging water quality in the protected reserve near Canterbury.

But Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) own property company - A Better Choice for Development Property Ltd - can now proceed with the scheme after the authority gained its own nutrient neutrality credits by reducing water use across other properties it owns.

Hoardings are set to be erected around Swanton House later this month, with demolition scheduled to start soon.

The property was purchased in 2019 from Kent County Council by A Better Choice for Development Property Ltd.

Initially, plans to demolish the dilapidated building were deferred by ABC’s planning committee and underwent a major redesign after they were likened to a “dangerous eyesore” and a “carbuncular grey egg box”.

The project was updated to be more in keeping with the character of the area, with the flat roofs replaced with pitched roofs to make them less grid-like.

Metal-clad gabled features have also been introduced to represent the surrounding 19th-century architecture as well as the features currently on Swanton House itself.

Twenty-five of the 27 parking bays will be fitted with electric vehicle charging points.

The two blocks will feature a mix of six three-bedroom, 24 two-bedroom and four one-bedroom flats, all with private balconies.

A spokesman for A Better Choice for Property Development Ltd said: “The design blends the positive features of the previous scheme to create a positive architectural design that reflects the ever-changing streetscape of Elwick Road.”

Swanton House served as an auxiliary military hospital in the First World War, and later housed Kent Social Service facilities.

The history of the building will be marked in the form of a plaque as part of the redevelopment.