Plans for 50 homes and a GP surgery should be rejected because of inadequate parking, highways chiefs have warned.

Developers want permission to build 26 houses, 24 flats and the medical practice on land just off the A20 Ashford Road in Sellindge, between Ashford and Hythe.

The brownfield site identified for the development is a former pig farm just outside the centre of the village.

However transport bosses have called on Folkestone and Hythe District Council to throw out the plans.

They say there is currently insufficient infrastructure proposed to accommodate demand for parking.

This would have the knock-on effect of unsafe parking on surrounding roads.

Commenting on the plans, the highways and transportation department at Kent County Council said: "The proposals do not provide adequate vehicle parking facilities within the site and this is likely to lead to vehicles being parked on the highway, to the detriment of highway safety.

"The proposed junction onto the A20 does not meet appropriate design standards [...], to the detriment to highway safety."

Locals have also expressed concerns about the scale and design of the project, which would consist of a mix of one- and two-bed flats and houses, ranging from two to five bedrooms.

One said: "We feel the design of the properties is poor and the flats are too high and out of keeping with this part of Sellindge.

"The flats seem to reflect an urban environment, not the rural nature and age of the properties in the locality. This scheme would be better off without them."

The planning statement supporting the application states: "Currently the full allocation of a five-year housing supply for the local area has not been met.

"The former piggery site is more conveniently located to village facilities than other locations outside central Sellindge particularly the public house and Potten farm shop."