Neighbours have hit out at "ludicrous" plans to build a 52-flat "tower block" with just 10 parking spaces.

People living in the Clarendon area of Dover say they already struggle to find anywhere to leave their cars.

Now they fear the problem will get even worse if the "fantasy land" proposals for the new homes in Malvern Road are approved.

The application comes less than a year after plans for a smaller build - of 45 flats and 12 parking spaces - were refused by Dover District Council.

Reacting to the latest scheme, Matthew Vine, of nearby Clarendon Street, said: "Nobody has a problem with a reasonable development but the concern over car ownership and parking is paramount.

"This is already a near disastrous area for parking for residents.

"A 52-flat build appears ludicrous - why not 12 or 16 flats?

"We do not need a tower block. This is Clarendon, not Canary Wharf.

"And a proposal for 52 flats requiring only 10 parking spots is fantasy land."

Justin Basquez, also from Clarendon Street, described the plans as "ridiculous".

"So much parking is already taken up as it is, and the lack of spaces forces people to park illegally, on double yellow lines," he said.

"When you drive along Clarendon Street so many spaces are taken up you sometimes have nowhere to pull into when someone is driving towards you."

Clarendon Street resident Shelley Yalden says she is "caught in two minds" about the plans.

"This will provide 52 homes for a people, which is needed - but parking is difficult here and things will be made worse when the construction takes place," she said.

"Additionally, there is already back-to-back parking on this estate."

One Malvern Road resident, who asked to remain nameless, says the parking situation was already so bad that "you have to hunt for a space if you get the timing wrong".

"This area at its worst for parking in the evening when everybody is home. If you come home at 9pm there is sometimes not a single space left," he added.

"You have to hunt for a space down the hill on Clarendon Street or Folkestone Road. This is a Victorian estate so was never designed for so many cars."

When the previous plans emerged for the smaller scheme, residents expressed their concerns about the number of parking spaces proposed.

But the developers claimed that the new occupants would have little need for cars given the site's proximity to the town centre and public transport.

The newly-designed application features seven more flats as part of a total redesign that alters the look of the previous building, which was refused on a number grounds including the unattractiveness of the design.

The 10 car parking spaces for this new application are all for electric vehicles – which developers say would be "either privately owned or owned and managed by a car share company for the benefit of the residents".

"Whilst residents will not need to travel by car for most of their needs, they will have access to a car when necessary," they added.

To justify the lower number of spaces compared to a higher number of flats, the developers note that 38 of the 52 will be one-bed or studio apartments, with the remaining 14 being two-bed flats.

This is compared to 13 one-bed, 25 two-bed, five three-bed, one four-bed and one five-bed apartment to make up the 45 previously applied for.

In terms of numbers of beds, there is in fact a reduction from 87 to 66 in the new plans, and as such the developers argue there is only a "slightly lower" ratio of car parking spaces to expected occupants.

But most residents remain opposed to the plans for the new homes.

Mr Vine suggests a public play area would be better for the site, saying currently local children walk almost a mile to the nearest, in Pencester Gardens.

The Clarendon area did have a small children's play area, on a hillside above Clarendon Place, but that closed two decades ago.

Alternatively, he says there could be a series of garages for rent, to alleviate parking problems.

Additional reporting by Sam Lennon