A TV architect has launched a withering attack on a controversial city centre hotel scheme – accusing developers of “kebabbing” Canterbury’s historic buildings.

Ptolemy Dean, presenter of the BBC’s Restoration series, claims the city could “come to regret” the proposed Slatters Hotel development in its current form.

Plans have been submitted to convert the eyesore site into a hotel and retail complex, complete with roof-top restaurant commanding views of the Cathedral.

But critics have said the plans, submitted by award-winning architect Guy Holloway, are out of scale with their surroundings.

Dean, a former Kent College schoolboy and president of the Canterbury Society, has now joined the debate.

He told the Gazette: “There’s a failure to demand the very best that the site should have.

“The issue isn’t whether or not it’s modern architecture. The problem here is the scale, mass and detail.

“They’re treating Canterbury as if it was Ashford or Maidstone.”

Dean said Holloway’s plans would have a detrimental effect on St Margaret’s Street and on arguably the city’s finest approach to the Cathedral.

He said: “If you walk into St Margaret’s Street, past that dog leg [by the Three Tuns pub], you go round the corner and there’s this thing sticking up.

“All those buildings are within scale then suddenly you get these three big hanging vertical facades.

“I think ‘is this St George’s Street or is this St Margaret’s Street?’”

Dean also criticised Holloway’s plans to maintain the facades of the listed buildings leading to modern interiors within.

“They’re kebabbing the historic buildings. You put it on a skewer and you slice a bit off. All the juicy bit behind is cut off.

“I want more than the facade. The brilliance of that scheme would be in the juxtaposition, in the old interiors set against the new building.

“At the moment it’s completely one dimensional.”

The Canterbury Society has sent written representations to the council in objection to the scheme, claiming the proposed structure looms unacceptably over neighbouring buildings.

Guy Holloway responded by saying: “Architecturally we are creating a building of real design quality which will stand the test of time. It’s about materiality and how it sits in its setting. It references Canterbury history and the history of the street.”

Mr Hollaway urged people to decide for themselves what they thought of his designs.

“We’ve had some very good feedback,” he added.

The plans have been submitted to Canterbury City Council, which owns the land.