Work is yet to start on a huge town centre development almost a year after plans were approved as legal discussions continue.

The former Kent Wool Growers site in Tannery Lane, Ashford, is set to be turned into 243 flats across four apartment blocks after permission was granted last March.

Developers will demolish all the buildings currently on-site except for the Grade II*-listed Whist House, which developer U+I hopes will become an upmarket restaurant.

One of the structures - the former Town and Country Store - saw a major fire take hold in October, however, the developer said this won't affect the project's timeline.

But despite being given the go-ahead 11 months ago, debate rages on about how much funding the plan’s chiefs will have to invest in the nearby area.

A U+I spokeswoman said: "We are negotiating the section 106 agreement with Ashford Borough Council (ABC) and are unable to progress with plans for the site until this is complete."

A council spokesman confirmed this.

U+I had initially planned to build 254 flats, but reduced the total by 11 after the plan was deferred in January at a meeting where one councillor branded the scheme a “monstrosity”.

But architect Guy Hollaway tweaked the design of the scheme and it was given the nod two months later.

The tallest apartment block will be 14 storeys high, with more two-bed flats to be built than previously proposed.

Bosses also tweaked the number of parking spaces, increasing them from 178 to 195.

The parking ratio per unit is now 0.8.

Among the project’s components is a new loop-the-loop bridge over the Stour, which is being designed by world-renowned architectural sculptor Alex Chinneck.

Chinneck - who is now based at a studio in nearby Brook - also transformed Brundett House on the site into an ‘unzipped’ building in 2018.

While that building will be lost, some work has begun to preserve the historic Whist House.

Scaffolding has appeared at the rear of the home as part of an effort to consolidate the structure.

The developer said: “Whist House is in a poor state of repair and so we are working with the heritage officers at ABC to ensure it does not deteriorate further, including putting a wrap around the building to make it wind and watertight.”

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