Residents say they will "live in a goldfish bowl" if a planned "prison-like" block of flats towers over their houses.

They say, with the traffic it would generate, it is too close to a danger junction where a woman was killed just over three years ago.

The planning application is to build 40 flats of up to four storeys at Coombe Valley Road, Dover.

But residents say it would overshadow the small terraced houses at neighbouring Victoria Street.

Resident Mandy Abbott told the Mercury: "It will be right behind my garden and 7 to 8ft above my roof.

" It will totally overshadow my house but also affect 10 other houses in Victoria Street."

Neighbour Nicola Dartnall, in a written submission to council planners, said: "It will be like living in a goldfish bowl and dramatically decrease the property value on the left side of Victoria Street.

"It will be a complete infringement of our privacy with the new prison- looking block overlooking us all.

"Not to mention how it will have a massive impact on the light in our houses. It's a disgrace and completely unacceptable."

Neighbour Simon Cannon's submission said: "The proposed building will tower over the existing structures and the scale is more suited to a modern city than a historic town.

" In addition, of particular concern is that the junction into Coombe Valley Road is the main access route to Buckland Hospital, as well as a number of busy industrial units."

He added that the site was near a busy junction, with London Road and accidents were likely with the new residents trying to enter or leave their block just off a blind corner.

By Today (Wednesday) there were 23 objections from neighbours on Dover District Council's online planning portal.

Residents accept the site needs to be redeveloped but also fear parking problems as the planning application only requests 30 car spaces.

Victoria Street resident and former Dover town councillor Lesley Ann Burke told the Mercury: "At the junction with London Road, there is a filter to come up Coombe Valley Road.

"Someone has been killed there already and the entrance to these flats is very near that filter."

Miss Abbott said: " I have witnessed cars racing around this corner and multiple lorries using this turning every day, including getting stuck under the bridge."

Mother-of-two Heather Couchman, 32, died after being struck by a car nearby on December 4, 2017.

It was on a pedestrian crossing in London Road close to the junction with Coombe Valley Road.

An inquest the following year concluded her death was the result of a road traffic collision.

But giving evidence Det Con Mark Robinson, of Kent Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said the junction was "quite complex" and had "quite a confusing lights sequence."

The application is by Livingstone Homes of Grace Hill, Folkestone, and the flats are designed by Guy Hollaway Architects, which has a base in Hythe.

Livingstone director Leo Griggs told the Mercury: "The site has been a derelict builders' yard for a number of years.

"A lot of thought, time and care has gone into the design, building materials, colours, window positions and flat sizes, to create a super redevelopment of the brownfield site.

"We carried out an online public consultation and note the objections to parking.

" Parking from the new development would not overspill into neighbouring streets.

" Within a town centre location, society uses less cars, instead more bicycle and public transport.

" The development will attract professionals who live and work in Dover, as part of its wider transformation.

"We develop and construct to a very high standard. We also received comments from the neighbours that the existing derelict site attracts unwanted behaviour and the rear alleyway will be tidied up.

"We consulted expert transport planners and Kent Highways to ensure the site access is safe for pedestrians and vehicles.

" By its very nature, a town centre location will be near to main roads.

"The resulting residential development will create a landmark building, direct and indirect jobs, alongside Dover's transformation into a destination and attractive place to live."

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