Fresh plans to build a block of three and four storey flats in a conservation area are back on the table a year after being thrown out.

The previous application for 10 flats in Ethelbert Road, submitted by care home owner David Barzotelli, was refused last year and an appeal was dismissed earlier this month.

A planning inspector said the public benefits were insufficient to outweigh the harm the development would have on the character and appearance of the road, a designated heritage asset which has the Kent and Canterbury Hospital at one end.

But Mr Barzotelli, who also runs firm Greenham Properties, says the revised plans should address the concerns raised in his previous application.

"The (new) proposal has been designed in such a way as to take design cues from the existing properties by way of appearance, detailing and mass and form.

"This allows the building to integrate into this historic and well-defined road and creates an improved and more suitable transition from the lower entrance of Ethelbert Road onto the main part of the road."

The current site at 2 and 2A Ethelbert Road consists of a block of six flats and one four-bedroom house and Mr Barzotelli, who owns Pilgrim's Lodge residential home, wants to demolish these and build seven replacement and three new flats.

He says the existing flats and house have a negative effect on the conservation area and that there is a recognised housing need within that area of Canterbury.

In the previous unsuccessful application, concerns were raised about excessive parking, the height, size and form of the building, and the removal of the existing front wall.

The new plans show a reduction in parking with added hedging and landscaped areas, retention of the wall, a reduction in height and changes to the form and detailing to "create a proposal that has a positive impact" on the conservation area.

Members of the Oaten Hill and South Canterbury Association objected to the previous plan on the grounds it was over-sized and due to fears there could be issues with the safety of vehicle access and movements due to restricted visibility by the bend in the road.

David Kemsley, spokesman for the group, says the association's planning committee are happy the application and appeal were refused.

"We will be looking at the latest application with considerable care," he added.

"I can't pre-judge the views of the planning committee but I would imagine our objections will remain intact."