A planning chief told angry neighbours “nobody has a right to a view” as they attempted to thwart a development they claim will “ruin” an iconic vista.

The latest plans for the former St Saviour’s hospital site in Hythe were met with ire by residents after developer, Ureco Property, proposed to make the main building two metres higher than originally mooted.

During a packed Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) meeting, in which the divisive scheme was given the green light, the authority’s chief planner Llywelyn Lloyd said the vista will remain the same for many residents.

The site is situated on a hillside and enjoys stunning views over the seafront.

Responding to arguments about the visual impact of the block, Mr Lloyd said: “Most residents that previously had a view will have a view, and we’re talking about two metres extra above the top of the previous St Saviour’s building.

“Nobody has a right to a view – they're lovely and we’d all like to keep them, but we don’t have a right to them.”

The private hospital - bulldozed last year - was shut in 2015, with owner Spire receiving outline planning permission to level the 1960s building and erect 51 homes.

It paved the way for Ureco to propose detailed plans in a reserved matters application in 2022, with designs drawn up by Canterbury-based On Architecture.

Those blueprints included three new blocks containing 47 sea-facing homes, alongside another four in a converted building on the former hospital grounds.

However, new documents were put to FHDC in the summer of 2023 proposing changes to the plans, including the two-metre alteration and fewer homes, with 87 objectors writing to FHDC to slate the plans.

Mayor of Hythe, Cllr Anita Jones, who also represents the town on the district council, argued during the meeting on October 3 that neighbours are “not against the development but they are against the over intensive development and the invasion of their privacy.”

“We used to have an iconic building in Seabrook, the hospital was a lovely building and I’m really sad that it’s no longer there, and we’re going to be left with a huge block of flats instead,” Cllr Jones added.

The architect for the scheme, Guy Hollaway, told the crowded Folkestone Civic Centre that “this is a really sensitive site and it needs a sensitive solution to it”.

He insisted his firm “wanted to design something that was considerate to the neighbours”.

“This is a well-considered sensitive design that is highly sustainable, respectful, calm and designed to blend into the hillside and reduce the impact of the scheme,” he added.

FHDC’s planning committee voted to approve the development on the Seabrook Road site, with seven votes in favour, two against, and one abstention.