The NHS has put in a planning application to turn a derelict hospital in Gravesend into luxury homes.

The application by NHS Property Services to Gravesham council proposes redeveloping the 0.35 hectare section of the former Gravesend and North Kent Hospital site, near the centre of Gravesend, with 80 modern homes.

The hospital, in Bath Street, began closing down in 2004 following the opening of Darent Valley in Dartford.

Limited services continued in the on-site building, known as M-block, until its official closure in 2006.

At the same time, Gravesham Community Hospital, which is unaffected by this application, was built on part of the site.

The site has been declared "surplus to NHS requirements" by NHS England and Dartford Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

We reported in February 2015 that talks had begun to redevelop the site.

Kieran Kinsella, head of investment management at NHS Property Services, said: “It’s time this prime site was given a new lease of life and this proposal is an opportunity for a landmark development of much-needed new homes.

“It would release vital funds for the NHS through the eventual sale of the site and is a chance to turn an empty site that is surplus to NHS requirements into something far more beneficial for the local community and the taxpayer.”

Indicative plans submitted as part of the application show the development laid out around a podium - a landscaped amenity space for people living there to enjoy.

The plans also feature a small-scale shop, cafe or office on the ground floor on Clifton Road to provide employment potential.

People living nearby will be invited to have their say on the plans as part of Gravesham Borough Council’s planning application process before councillors decide whether to approve it.