A 92-bed hotel with a bar, restaurant and spa will replace a row of shops in Ashford town centre after bold plans were approved.

Six units in New Rents – including the former Argos on the corner of Drum Lane – will make way for the project, which will go across four storeys.

PDSA, Betfred, British Heart Foundation, KPC Events and the former Game unit will also be flattened.

Designed by architect Guy Hollaway – who drew up the scheme on behalf of applicant SPPF Ltd – the project will also include 10 flats on the top floor.

The operator of the site is not yet known, but it will offer three to four-star accommodation.

While parking won’t be provided for hotel guests there is an agreement in place with County Square for guests to use the centre's car park, and 12 spaces will be built for the residents of the flats.

The plans were approved by Ashford Borough Council's planning committee on Wednesday night.

Welcoming the arrival of a third hotel to the town centre, joining Travelodge and Hampton by Hilton, Cllr Neil Shorter (Con) said: “What we’ve got there at the moment is very tired and ill-used buildings.

“They’ve not really been used the last five years or so, I think what’s being proposed will bring a significant amount of visitors to the town centre which will liven it up.”

Other councillors spoke of their experience with shop owners in the area and how times had changed as Cllr Nathan Iliffe (Con) said: “Our high street has been, not struggling, but there have been occupancy issues since before Covid.

“We currently have the highest vacancy of retail units in Ashford town centre than we’ve ever seen. It was over 20% the last time I had an update.

“This application will help regenerate and revitalise the high street.

“Yes, we will be losing some retail space, but that isn’t being used by the market anymore.

“With the two hotels that have opened in the town centre, anecdotally I’ve heard the Travelodge is fully booked all of the time and Hampton by Hilton is much the same.”

There was however some opposition to the plans as Cllr Geoff Meaden (Green Party) had concerns about the central location of the hotel.

“I cycled around the area earlier and it was looking rather forlorn - to use the polite expression," he said.

“There’s a very low footfall in the area, the streets and roads are narrow, there’s double yellow lines outside and I can’t imagine people want to arrive and find they can’t park their car.

“There’s also lots of businesses closing around it, now all these things aren’t good reasons for a hotel to stay there. It would be very, very optimistic to think it was going to be successful.”

When built, the first and second floors of the unit will be exclusively for hotel use, with the third floor earmarked for mixed hotel and residential, and the fourth floor exclusively for residential use.

The bar, restaurant and spa will all be on the ground floor, along with the hotel's reception area.

Amended plans were submitted in January which show changes to the shape of the roof on the corner of the building which will now be sloped.

The size of some windows have been reduced and more greenery has been added to the courtyard area with trellises and climbing plants.

The hotel was approved with 11 votes in favour and two against.