A 15-storey tower block containing hundreds of flats is among one council's 1,000-home plan for a town centre.

Papers released today show Maidstone Borough Council's plans for five sites around the County Town.

They include land around Maidstone West, St Peter's Street, the former Gala Bingo building and Len House, currently an outgoing Peugeot garage.

The proposed 15-storey tower block would replace the Broadway shopping centre, home to Matalan and Lidl, and would house 281 flats.

But Cllr Jonathan Purle wasn't keen on the plan.

He said: "This is going to create another eyesore completely out of character with the area.

“The riverside in Maidstone could be so much more. We need a positive & balanced regeneration of the area so that it works for existing residents.

"But building more flats for commuters to move-in from London, or smaller flats for London boroughs’ housing overspill, misses the mark and indeed does nothing to deliver three-bed semis for local families to buy or to rent affordably.”

“The council has never been forgiven for inflicting the Travelodge on the us and will certainly not be forgiven if they now get this wrong. These plans need a re-think.”

MBC's Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee will discuss the proposals for all five sites next week.

If approved, the proposals will pave the way for future planning applications on each site.

Read more: All the latest news from Maidstone.