County Hall, Kent's once-grand council headquarters in the centre of Maidstone, should be sold for housing or let out, according to one political chief.

Liberal Democrat councillor Antony Hook says the sale, possibly for tens of millions of pounds, could go some way to offset cash-strapped Kent County Council's (KCC) dire economic situation.

He says Sessions House off Week Street, which is 150 years old next year, now looks scruffy and questions if it is currently fit for purpose.

Much of the outwardly impressive stone Grade-ll listed municipal building is empty or being used for storage.

The Lib Dem group leader at the Tory-run authority said: "Given its location near a train station bound for London, access to Maidstone and good local schools, it should be snapped up for a conversion to flats or housing or businesses.

"We have to be sensible about this. Most of the building is not used with great empty spaces and what is used is now looking very tired.

"We shouldn't have all that empty space doing nothing. We need to sell it or find a way of using it or getting an income from it."

There have been discussions for some years about whether to sell all or part of the building which was originally designed in the Greek Revival style by Sir Robert Smirke and added to over time.

Cllr Hook added: "It's a beautiful old building and has a real, imposing presence and, with a sympathetic approach, it could be put to great use. You could see a boutique hotel with cafes and restaurants with its wide open frontage.

"It could prove to be a landmark for people to visit. It's a grand building for a county council but not as it stands."

However, as much of the building backs onto Maidstone Prison and the Ministry of Justice, which has covenants on Sessions House, could object to a hotel, said Cllr Hook.

As a result of squeezed budgets and soaring costs, KCC faces having to find efficiencies of £86 million next year and is on a financial knife-edge, although its executive claims it is not on the verge of going bust.

Cllr Hook said: "The sale of the building or a big chunk of it is sensible. Working practices have changed since the pandemic and many members, including myself, would prefer to do some council business virtually.

"I don't know why they just don't get on with it and sell it or rent it to someone who can take better care of it. The revenue it could create from flats or businesses or both could help in the present circumstances."

He said the interior of the building has now started to "look scruffy and sad".

Cllr Hook pointed to a blue plastic mop bucket placed on a red carpet at the top of stairs leading to the main chamber to catch rainwater and debris from a leaking skylight above.

He added: "It's not a great look, is it? That bucket has been there for as long as I can remember.

"There are gents' toilets where some of the taps have been dripping for months, perhaps years. We have wheelie bins placed in public areas. There are damp stains on some ceilings.

"Come on, I know we're in financial trouble but let's try and display some civic pride."

Conservative councillor Simon Webb said: "We haven't got any option but to sell it - the repair bill for Sessions House would be enormous.

"We haven't the money to fix the building and it is just going to fall into further disrepair. We need to sell it to someone who can look after it. It's common sense."

A recent KCC document stated: "Historic under-investment in the estate over many years has created a significant maintenance backlog.

"As a result of this backlog and the limited suitability of buildings, many services are delivered from buildings that offer a poor user experience.

"In some cases, staff and service users have had to work in restricted and challenging environments due to condition problems which have resulted in the need to temporarily close areas of buildings or a whole building due to health and safety concerns."

A KCC statement said: “We have been considering the future of Sessions House for some time and as part of this we are exploring the opportunities with the market.

“Further market testing of options for Sessions House will continue for the rest of the year which will inform the next steps.”