A £1.5 million price tag has been slapped on a former care home - sparking speculation the shut-down site could be transformed into flats.

Company Christie and Co is marketing Grade II-listed Elliott House in Reculver Road, Herne Bay, just a few months after its sudden closure at the end of last year.

The firm says the Victorian building would be suitable for a number of other uses, having sat empty since it locked its doors days after an unannounced inspection in November.

Beltinge councillor Ian Stockley believes the site could be targeted by developers looking to convert its 62 bedrooms into homes and add more properties to its two-acre grounds.

“It’s almost inevitable,” the Conservative said.

“Locals will be concerned. We’re already overcrowded.

“Herne Bay is getting a lot of houses, but very little infrastructure. There is very little here for people to work and earn money at.

“I’m fearful that Herne Bay will become a retirement or dormitory area because we don’t have the commercial developments going on.”

Bosses from Elliott House decided to close the business four days after it was visited by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.

Most of its 46 residents were only given two days’ notice to leave, but one 90-year-old only found out the day before it shut.

A report published by the watchdog last month revealed the assessors found it was understaffed, unclean and failing to protect residents.

The assessment, undertaken shortly after rules making it compulsory for care home employees to be vaccinated were introduced, discovered a number of cases in which staff vaccine records were “missing”.

"Locals will be concerned. We’re already overcrowded..."

The revelation added weight to claims a number of employees quit when the government made it mandatory for them to be vaccinated against Covid.

“The care home industry isn’t in particularly good shape at the moment, so it’s unlikely in my view it’ll become a care home again,” Cllr Stockley added.

“The staffing shortages cited when it closed are still an issue, and most of the finances available for development at the moment are for residential schemes.”

Elliott House is thought to have originally been a convalescence home for railway men following its construction in 1901.

It was most recently caring for dementia sufferers and elderly residents.

Advertising material produced by Christie and Co suggests the home went into receivership prior to being put on the market for the seven-figure sum.

“This is an opportunity to buy a vacant landmark property on a generous plot that previously operated as a care home for the elderly until November,” it reads.

“It is suitable for a variety of uses, subject to planning permission.

“This is a sale by the receiver so no warranties or indemnities will be provided by the seller.”