A row of shops in a closure-hit town centre street could finally be demolished to make way for a 92-bed hotel.
Plans for the development in New Rents, Ashford, were first put forward by developers SPPF Ltd in July 2020, and were approved two years later.
Work has never progressed but now a new application to demolish six retail units in the street has been submitted to Ashford Borough Council (ABC).
The shops, which were built in 1978, were last occupied by Game, British Heart Foundation, KPC Events, Betfred, and HomePlus Furniture.
All five have since closed with only the PDSA charity still trading ahead of an anticipated move to County Square shopping centre.
New planning statements lodged by architects Blue Ridge Designs, on behalf of applicants Whathi Limited, state demolishing the existing properties will “speed up the development process of this important site”.
When built, the ground floor of the new hotel is set to form the reception area as well as an additional bar and restaurant.
The first and second floors of the unit are planned exclusively for hotel use, while the third floor is to be a mix of hotel and residential.
Meanwhile, the fourth floor is scheduled solely for flats.
Although the operator of the hotel is still not known, it is expected to offer three to four-star accommodation.
However, work on the 0.44-acre scheme, which is set to feature 10 flats in total, has stalled for several years.
Wooden hoardings surrounding the site were taken down after two months in April as the development continued to be impacted by water quality issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve.
The protected beauty spot near Canterbury has been affected by wastewater run-off from developments across east Kent causing high levels of harmful nitrate and phosphate nutrients.
As a result, rules set down by Natural England insist developers must ensure all schemes in the River Stour catchment area are “nutrient neutral” – either by having an on-site water treatment facility or offsetting the impact by providing mitigation measures elsewhere, such as wetlands.
The issue has prevented thousands of new developments from being built across east Kent – including the New Rents site which ABC previously said remains unresolved by SPPF.
But, following the submission of a £7.5 million grant to the government by ABC and Canterbury City Council (CCC) earlier this month, the project could finally be set to get underway.
The two authorities are forming a joint company called the Stour Environmental Credits Ltd (SEC) which will trade in “nutrient credits” from next year.
Developers will purchase the credits from SEC and the company will then use the proceeds to help fund projects to mitigate the pollution caused by building new homes.
The measures also include water companies improving works to water treatment facilities, upgrades to septic tanks and new connections to treatment works.
SEC will then issue certificates to developers to confirm that they have bought credits and contributed to mitigation, which would be submitted with planning applications to allow them to proceed.
As a result, Blue Ridge Designs says the applicants have submitted the new application “in light of the council’s decision to overcome the problem of environmental pollution of the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve”.
They added: “The early removal of the existing buildings in advance of the redevelopment scheme would allow an early start to the scheme and an earlier significant enhancement to the character of the town centre.
“The long delay, of more than two years, in being able to commence development has impacted the construction costs and so any method of achieving an early start will be financially helpful in maintaining the quality of the scheme.”
Once empty, contractors are expected to take the roof off the buildings as part of the first phase of demolition.
Parking will not be provided for hotel guests, although bosses say there is an agreement in place with the operators of the County Square car park to allow visitors to use that nearby facility.
Twelve spaces are proposed on the site for residents living in the flats.
The hotel has also been designed by award-winning architect Guy Hollaway.
A decision on the application is expected by December 11.
KentOnline has made attempts to contact the applicant via Blue Ridge Designs.
Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.
Meanwhile, PDSA, which was linked with moving to County Square earlier this year, says it will continue to trade in New Rents while plans for the hotel progress.
A spokeswoman for the charity said: “We are still very much exploring our options when it comes to our charity shop in Ashford, but we are keen to remain in the area.
“We’re very grateful for the continued local support and the shop will remain open as usual whilst we confirm the long-term plan.
“We will share any updates regarding the shop once we have some confirmed plans in place.”