A council is “carefully considering” divisive plans to build three luxury homes on a clifftop notorious for landslips.

Proposals, which would see new properties built on Radnor Cliff in Sandgate, are being weighed up by Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) after being branded a “major concern”.

The latest application seeks permission to replace a derelict house with two large dwellings and a short-let holiday retreat overlooking the sea.

Steep coastal slopes in the area have been scarred by erosion in recent years, prompting neighbours to warn that any heavy construction could tip the balance.

Architects Liddicoat & Goldhill say the site’s many challenges have shaped the design.

Now, FHDC is assessing the scheme amid what it calls a “risk of land instability”.

A spokesperson said officers were “carefully considering” the planning application for the demolition of the existing property.

“The site lies in an area identified in the council’s Local Plan as being at risk of land instability, and we are also mindful of the concerns raised by residents in this regard,” they added.

“A detailed geotechnical and ground-stability assessment has been submitted with the application.”

Since the proposals were first reported by KentOnline, 17 new objections have been lodged.

Many accuse the developer of over-ambition, saying the three-home scheme would dominate the slope and threaten the conservation area’s character.

Ian and Sandie Barker said the project represents “overdevelopment” and claim its combined size would be “too large” for the plot.

Long-term resident Anthony Nevill, who has lived nearby for almost sixty years, warned that the “risk of landslip is severe” and argued that construction traffic could worsen instability on the narrow hillside road.

Others questioned how heavy lorries and cranes could safely reach the site, describing access as “unsafe and impractical”.

Several recent slides have struck the same stretch of coastline, from the Road of Remembrance collapse that still keeps the route closed, to falls behind Sunny Sands and The Riviera which sent trees and debris cascading onto private land.

Architect David Liddicoat, of Liddicoat & Goldhill, said the instability of the site has been taken into account.

“Recent instances of land slippage are foremost in our minds as we design in locations like this,” he told KentOnline.

Mr Liddicoat also confirmed engineers have prepared a slope-stability strategy and a plan to remove invasive Japanese knotweed, a plant capable of damaging foundations if left untreated.

Planning papers describe the scheme as an effort to stabilise the cliff through deep piled foundations and to transform a neglected garden into a “contemporary and sustainable” addition to the seafront.

Earlier concept drawings show glass-fronted terraces and planted roofs stepped between the tall villas above and the smaller beachfront homes below - a design the architect says aims to preserve the area’s “green band” of gardens.

The clifftop was once home to War of the Worlds author H.G. Wells, and now properties can fetch close to £1 million despite the ever-present threat of erosion.

FHDC is expected to make a decision on the application in the coming months.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.