The home of a social club more than 100 years old is set to be bulldozed – despite controversial plans to develop the site being rejected.

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has received an application to demolish the former working men’s club in Beaver Road next month.

Papers show developers want to start knocking down the building, which is now surrounded by overgrown weeds, on November 6.

The site is currently the home of Ashford International Sports and Social Club, which has between 300 and 400 members but has been closed since the Covid pandemic struck.

Last year it was revealed bosses, alongside development firm Costplan Group, wanted to flatten the current clubhouse and build a new one elsewhere on the site, alongside two apartment blocks up to five storeys high.

Committee members said the development - which includes 31 flats - was needed to secure the long-term future of the club.

But despite the plans being snubbed because of concerns over the height of the blocks and overdevelopment of the area, documents show the demolition of the building could still go ahead.

A different developer, Yellowstone Homes Ltd, has put forward the notice to knock down the clubhouse.

The application was submitted by Beanland Associates Architects Ltd on October 3 on behalf of Yellowstone and states work will start on November 6 and last a month.

Documents state the spoil from the machine demolition works will be stored on-site within the car park, which is currently closed, until it can be safely disposed of.

A decision by ABC on the demolition is expected next month.

Meanwhile, no fresh planning application has yet been submitted to develop the site, which has been the home of what was once the Ashford Working Men’s Club since the 1920s.

The previous proposals attracted a number of objections, with one councillor claiming the designs would win a “gold medal” for “boring architecture”.

Another, Cllr Linda Harman, feared the character of the town was being “eroded and lost by applications such as this”.

Costplan Group project manager Aaron Tomsett described the council’s rejection of the plans as a “kick in the teeth”.

He said he and the club’s members were surprised at the refusal of the proposal, as council planning officers were "very supportive" of the scheme, which was recommended for approval.

KentOnline was unable to contact Yellowstone Homes Ltd for further information.

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