Plans to turn an abandoned nightclub into flats have been scrapped as developers claim the housing market “isn’t particularly strong”.

The H.S. Pledge and Son flour mill in Ashford, which previously housed the town’s Liquid nightclub, was set to be converted into 53 apartments after the borough council approved the scheme in 2022.

But developer Oliver Davis, who took on the site a year earlier, has confirmed this is no longer happening – saying he has had more interest from commercial tenants than residential.

He says the unlisted building will still receive a long-overdue makeover as it will be turned into a “flexible office space”.

It comes as the latest edition of the Kent Property Market Report reveals how office rentals were up 20% in Ashford between 2023 and 2024, dwarfing the Kent average of just 2%.

But the same report shows how the average house price in the district was up 2.2% compared to a countywide drop of 3.9%, suggesting the area is still in need of more housing.

Despite this, Mr Davis says he has now dropped his residential scheme, which was set to include a mix of one and two-bed flats.

“We've changed our approach to the buildings - it's all going to be commercial use,” Mr Davis said.

“The housing market at the moment isn't particularly strong.

“We've got some good potential tenants for it from a commercial basis, so we've just decided that a commercial use is a better approach.”

Mr Davis, whose MTH Flour Mills Ltd company owns the site, says he is currently finishing another scheme elsewhere in the county before moving on to the East Hill project in January.

“We've got about 13,000 sq ft of office space there,” he added.

“It's going to be a flexible office space, there's going to be a series of small lettable spaces from single desks up to 20 people so it's going to split depending on demand.”

Mr Davis says one tenant, a kitchen showroom, has already been lined up amid interest from a variety of others.

His original scheme, which was set to include a cafe and large gym, had been held up by pollution issues with the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury.

The protected beauty spot 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.

Until 2014, the 1901-built former mill had been a selection of nightspots, with Liquid becoming the last name to occupy it.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Before Mr Davis snapped up the flour mill, proposals had emerged in 2017 to turn the seven-storey building into a performing arts centre for Ashford School, complete with a 250-seat theatre and staff offices, but it never got off the ground.

The Kent Property Market Report, now in its 33rd year, is produced by Caxtons Property Consultants, Kent County Council and the county’s inward investment agency Locate in Kent.