Plans for former Royal Mail sorting office in Sandling Road, Maidstone changed as demolition continues

Plans for flats on the site of a former sorting office which is being demolished have been changed after being criticised by councillors.

Maidstone council owns the old Royal Mail buildings off Sandling Road after buying the 19,607 sq m plot for £2.5 million in 2022.

Last spring, it put in a planning application to build five blocks of flats consisting of 217 homes.

However, in March the proposals were roundly condemned by members of the authority’s own planning committee.

Among those voicing their concerns was Cllr Clive English (Lib Dem) who said: “We are building a slum which will be a constant weight to the council’s reputation, we should be doing better than this.”

The committee, which was also critical of the lack of any affordable homes in the plans, deferred making a decision.

Earlier this month, the plans were amended, with 37 fewer homes now proposed.

The number of blocks has also been reduced from five to four, with a larger green space and a public piazza now separating them.

If approved, the 180 flats, in blocks of three to nine storeys, would consist of one, two and three bedrooms.

There would also be a car park with 156 bays.

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

Images taken by KentOnline show parts of the site, including the car park, have already been flattened.

Temporary traffic lights have been put up near the Sandling Road roundabout while work is under way.

The demolition began at the end of May and is expected to continue until the end of September.

The Royal Mail sorting office shut in 2013.

Previously, Maidstone council had a shared ambition with KCC to build a £50m joint HQ, but that scheme fell by the wayside following the pandemic.

Children’s charity Demelza had its distribution centre and a shopping outlet there but had to move in January to make way for the new development.

It has since opened a new depot in Larkfield.

People can share their views on the latest plans for the sorting office site by visiting the council’s planning portal at tinyurl.com/planningkm using the code 23/504552/FULL.

The deadline for comments is September 4.

The revised proposals have not been considered by the council’s planning committee yet and no date has been set for when it will.

A Maidstone council spokesman said: “The start date of any building works is yet to be agreed as the project is subject to planning permission.”