A planning application, which has split locals down the middle, will be heard this week.

Dover district councillors are expected to vote on a scheme to replace the burnt-out Club Karma nightclub with flats in Adrian Street.

A total 58 neighbouring respondents want it but 56 don't.

Dover Chamber of Commerce is for it but the town council and the civic group the Dover Society are against it.

Archaeologists also want the site checked as excavation of the nearby area led to the discovery of the town's Bronze Age Boat.

The application will be discussed by the planning committee at 6pm on Thursday.

Applicants Emervest Ltd, of Caterham in Surrey, want to knocked down the building, torched in 2018, and place 29 homes on the site plus a home working hub.

The 56 letters to the council against the application said the development would overwhelm the area and its population should not be increased.

They said there would be overlooking on neighbouring homes, loss of views for those residents, extra traffic and loss of car parking.

The 58 supporting the application said Dover needed housing and this would help the local economy.

They said the present dilapidated building was giving rise to anti-social behaviour and that there was plenty of alternative parking nearby.

The Dover Society believes that the flats would not blend in with the area and the development would be too large and overbearing.

"The development fails in every respect." Dover Town Council.

Its written submission to the council said: "The site overlooks the Wellington Dock, which is a listed building, and the Waterloo Crescent Conservation Area.

It is considered that the development would adversely affect the settings of these assets and the historic skyline."

The group also said that the development would block off the neighbouring Grade II listed Unitarian Church.

Dover Town Council also said the new blocks would not fit in and could even be seen from Dover Castle on the other side of the Dour Valley.

The authority's submission said: "Such a site demands enhancement of the skyline and town, and the proposed development fails in every respect."

"It can only bring benefits to the district at large." Dover Chamber of Commerce

Dover Chamber of Commerce believed that the development would not harm the visual appeal of the neighbourhood.

It said the site was conveniently close to Dover Priory railway station and the office space would provide opportunities for home working.

The business group said help with jobs in Dover district was needed as it had 6.3% unemployment,

nearly double that of the 3.2% Tonbridge & Malling, for example, and high above the UK average of 5.1%.

The Chamber summed up: "The existing site is an abandoned eyesore. Construction that attracts residents who will doubtlessly be keen to shop locally in our high street and at the new St James' Retail and Leisure Park can only bring benefits to the district at large."

Kent County Council's archaeology department said a field evaluation was needed as this was a sensitive area for finds.

Its submission said: "There is a high potential that important archaeological remains could be present within the proposed development site.

"These potentially could include significant remains of Roman and medieval date."

It said that just 100 metres away, in 1992, the Bronze Age Boat, which is now in Dover Museum, was discovered.

It was found when workers were constructing the present A20 link between Dover and Folkestone.

The application is for two blocks of flat, varying from three to six storeys, because they are on sloping land. One block would replace the 1950s building, the other a private car park.

There would be 15 one-bedroomed flats, 12 two-bedroomed ones and two three-bedroomed ones.

Planning officers are recommending its approval.

The building had been run as a night club for decades and was known as Nu Age and StudioOne before taking the name Club Karma.

There was an an arson attack on it in July 2018.

The debate is at the council chamber at the White Cliffs Business Park in Whitfield.

As coronavirus restrictions continue only up to 16 members of the public cab attend but the meeting can be watched online.

For full details on attendance see the meetings and agendas section of the council website dover.gov.uk

Read more: All the latest news from Dover.