A crumbling manor house with links to Jane Austen is set to be torn down to make way for a new home.

The halls of Danefield House, near Dover, teemed with children, servants, and even teachers during the 19th century.

But following a fire in 2002 the now uninhabitable mansion will be demolished and replaced with a custom-built home.

When Quinn Estates launched a bid to overhaul the plot in St Mary’s Grove, Tilmanstone, last year, it triggered 49 public objections.

Yet Dover District Council’s planning committee on January 16 went against officers’ recommendations and approved the plans.

In the lead-up to the crunch meeting, neighbours urged the authority to scrap the scheme and voiced fears the development would set a concerning precedent.

Neighbour Julie Sanders wrote in an objection letter: "My fear is, once planning is allowed, in time, more people will apply for planning, (and) it will get granted.

"Then the village will end up like Thanet - No fields, no countryside, no wildlife.

“All the villages will just merge into one.

“There are enough empty properties in the towns without building houses that no one can afford or want in the village.”

John Wiltshire argued the original building would have been “an extraordinary property full of character”.

“The original footprint should be respected, not desecrated in this irresponsible manner,” he added.

“This proposal will neutralise the individuality of the village and replace it with mundanity and greedy negligence.”

Quinn won approval to overhaul the site in December 2023 with the caveat that reptiles were relocated from the land.

But with the developer unable to contact the landowner to do so, and planning chiefs now recommending the scheme to be rejected after adopting the Local Plan, the proposals boomeranged back to the committee.

Chris Pragnell, on behalf of Quinn Estates, told Thursday's meeting the issue surrounding the reptiles was rectified and the “benefits of the scheme would outweigh the adverse effects”.

“It’s only by a quirk of fate we are back here today,” he told the chamber.

“While the quality and benefits of the proposal remain unchanged, the officer's recommendation has changed.

“We would highlight that in the original report, officers concluded that the benefits of the scheme would outweigh the adverse effects - The proposal has not changed, so the clear benefits remain the same.

“Also wish to highlight it was seen as a compatible and suitable expansion of the village.

“Again, the location has not changed. What’s changed is the adverse effects are now considered to be greater.

“I don’t think anyone can dispute that this proposal will enhance the character, appearance and visual amenity of the area, bringing a long-standing derelict site back into use.”

Cllr Dan Friend (Con) said the application had taken an “interesting journey” to return before the committee.

But he supported the previous decision to approve the scheme and proposed the administration followed suit.

“For me I agree with the decision made by the previous committee. It looks a good development, it’s wanted, it’s necessary, and it seems unfair we find ourselves in this position.

“I’d like to propose we approve the application in line with what the previous committee recommended.”

The more than seven-acre site is surrounded by agricultural land and comprises predominately developed land, including Danefield House.

Built in 1840, the manor hasn’t been used since the 1980s when its condition began to deteriorate, then suffered a fire in 2002 and is now classified as abandoned.

Construction was undertaken by then owner Major C A Rice, whose mother was a niece of Austen.

He lived at Danefield House with his wife, three children, five servants, and a schoolteacher also resided there.

Overall, councillors voted to overrule the officer's recommendation and approve the plans with six votes for, two against and one abstention.