A town high street will gain a dentist and six new flats after a historic home was given the go-ahead for redevelopment.

Abdication House on Rochester High Street, where James II stayed shortly before fleeing to France, has been granted permission to be repurposed for a more modern use.

An application for the redevelopment of the ground floor of the former Lloyds bank into a dentist and the renovation of the upper floors for flats, as well as construction of a new building for flats towards the rear, were submitted in June last year.

Lloyds moved out of the grade-II listed building in 2018 and it has remained vacant since then, but now Eastgate Dental Practice is to move into the ground floor to occupy a larger space than their current premises.

The building was the last place in England where James II stayed before fleeing to France after being deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

The dental practice expects the new facilities would enable them to serve around 50 additional patients per day, on top of their current numbers of 100 to 125 daily patients.

The application was broadly supported by the community, who welcomed a key service to the high street as well as the renovation of an empty building.

Councillors praised the scheme, saying it was a creative use which celebrated the heritage and supported the local area.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.

Cllr Douglas Hamandishe (Lab) said: “This is one of the most creative submissions I’ve seen.

“I had a tooth taken out yesterday and I can assure you the environment was not as conducive as what’s being proposed here.

“This is a no-brainer really, the only thing to say is I think some of the s106 [Developer contributions] should go towards education around the heritage of the building, whether that be books or tours, some way to help young people understand the history.”

Cllr Paula Hamilton (Lab) added: “I really like this application, it’s a sensitive development, fitting with the historic asset, and it will enhance footfall on our high street which is great for economic regeneration.”

Cllr Adrian Gulvin (Con) agreed. He said: “I find this a very intriguing application on many levels, it’s getting a historic building back into use and a use that will enable its historic features to be preserved.

“I think the non-retail use is a positive factor as successful high streets have to have things other than retail.”

The application involves the cutting down of a lime tree which has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) in place, but councillors accepted it was necessary for the delivery of the scheme.

As part of the conditions, two trees are required to be planted in the Intra area to replace it but councillors proposed other locations, including the Esplanade gardens and Rochester Castle gardens.

The applications for the property, one for the scheme and the other to deal with the historical elements of the building, were unanimously supported by the planning committee.