Plans have been submitted for a new block of five flats alongside a Premier Inn.

The scheme proposed by Jimmy Hamad of Hamad Properties Ltd would sit on waste ground behind Nos 14 and 16 Tonbridge Road in Maidstone, not far from Maidstone West Station.

Entry would be via an existing private lane off Terrace Road.

The scheme indicates a single one-bedroom flat on the ground floor, two two-bedroom flats on the second floor and two three-bedroom flats on the second floor and extending into the loft space.

All offer a single combined kitchen/diner/lounge and have shower rooms rather than baths.

The two-bed units have two shower rooms, the three-bedroom units have three.

There are 14 parking spaces proposed, one to the front of the property, 13 to the rear, where there would also be space for 10 waste bins and a small garden recreation area.

The developer said: “We consider that the proposal will be of high quality, not have any adverse impact on the roads, streets, highway, views, privacy or the adjoining neighbours.

“The proposal will not dominate the landscape and its surroundings. It sits comfortably in the landscape. The design is overall sympathetic, within scale and has a sensitive character of the existing older developments.”

As well as the four-storey Premier Inn, there is a five-storey block of 25 social housing flats, Nolan Court, close by.

There is currently no greenery on the site whatsoever. The applicant’s plans show a degree of landscaping, with the ground floor flat having a small front garden.

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Details of this application can be found on the Maidstone council website. Look for application number 25/501957.

On the other side of town, work has begun on converting an office building into two flats.

No 26 Fisher Street operated as offices for the accountancy firm George and Co, from 2014 until 2019. After that it was let to Law Roofing Ltd, but the lease was surrendered at the beginning of this year, and since then it has been empty.

Now the owner has applied to Maidstone council for a change of use from commercial, business and service use (Class E) to two residential flats (Class C3).

One flat would use the ground floor and lower ground floor, with one bedroom. The other would use part of the ground floor, first floor and roof space, and provide two bedrooms.

Plans show the four parking places at the rear of the property being retained.

Details can be found on the council’s website, under planning reference 25/501939