Developers trying to sell a plot of land earmarked for 30 flats have slashed the price after failing to sell the site.

George Wilson Developments first put the housing element of the Station Road, Faversham scheme - which it says will cater for first-time buyers - on the market last December for £2.2 million.

However, after sitting on the market for almost a year, marketing firm Finn’s is now inviting offers in excess of £1.5 million – a reduction of nearly a third from the original asking price.

Josh Wilson, of George Wilson Developments, told KentOnline the firm remains committed to offloading the site but confessed the wider economy had forced their hand.

“We want to see the site sold and for someone to take over the project, but the price needs to be affordable,” said Mr Wilson.

“Interest rates on developer loans being 12-13% is putting people off, it’s a symptom of the wider economy.

“We’re a commercial developer and we don’t want or like to land bank which is why the price has gone down.”

The land in question is an old railway yard near Faversham station nestled between Beaumont Terrace on the left, and Eurocenter Business Park on the right, which is also owned by George Wilson.

Faversham Recreation Ground is immediately to the north of the former works, and as part of the scheme, a pedestrian access route linking the park with the station would be formed to shorten walking times.

Network Rail sold the land to George Wilson Developments six years ago for £150,000 and Mr Wilson’s company had originally planned to build 45 flats on the plot.

However, the number was lowered to 30 flats and two homes after Network Rail raised concerns in 2021 that a train could come off the tracks and crash into the homes.

The long, thin stretch of redundant land - located at the junction of the old Faversham Creek branch line - was previously granted permission to be turned into a commercial space but bosses behind the scheme snubbed this in favour of housing plans.

Councillors gave the project the go-ahead more than a year ago, praising it for its design and noting it was a “good use of a brownfield site”.

They also said the development “would be a vast improvement on what is currently there”.

Historically, the site formed part of the railway sidings used by a number of local companies, most notably Shepherd Neame while in more recent times the site was used as a railway depot connected to Faversham station and the wider railway network.

The three-storey apartment blocks have been designed in Victorian and Edwardian style in an effort to stay in-keeping with the architecture of the town’s station.