A residential property and garden centre has been knocked down to make way for a 70-bed care home.

Plans were approved by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to build a dementia nursing home along Hermitage Lane in Maidstone.

The site originally had a detached house named The Hermitage, a small garden centre called Woodstock, as well as a cafe and cattery.

According to The Move Market, the property has been evaluated at £2,899,000 and is ranked the most expensive in ME16 9NT.

It was said to have had “some heritage value” and included a former farmhouse, which at one point was connected to the oast houses nearby.

The building also appears on historic maps dating back to 1871, however it is not included on the National Heritage List.

Woodstock Cafe has already moved to Hermitage Court next door, which is home to a variety of businesses – including a British Red Cross centre, an accounts firm and a car dealer.

Images now show the property completely reduced to rubble, with lots of machinery on-site ready to start construction.

An application was first submitted in July 2020 by Barchester Healthcare, an independent UK care provider.

The home is set to be three-storeys, with a lower front entrance lobby and 70 bedrooms.

It says that there will be “high quality, single room accommodation with en-suite facilities together with a high ratio of communal/recreational space per resident”.

There will also be a range of in-house services, recreation and leisure facilities.

A total of 37 parking spaces have been allocated, along with eight cycling spaces.

The application highlights that the home would be close to a main bus route, Barming train station and Maidstone Hospital if emergency care is required.

A 15mm “buffer zone” will be provided between the site and ancient woodland, called Fullingpits Wood.

Kent County Council and Aylesford Parish Council did not have any objections to the application.

However, initial concerns were raised over the amount of parking, turning areas and measures to be put in place to prevent the discharge of water on the road.

One comment was submitted, which mentioned that their HQ Office is in Hermitage Court, and staff “frequently experience difficulty exiting” due to the traffic on the main road.

It went on to say: “What proposals are there to address the McDonald’s junction in the light of this and future housing development?

“Additionally, there doesn’t seem to be any proposed management of construction traffic during the development which will have an impact on access to Hermitage Court.”

The application was approved in November 2020.

A spokesperson from Barchester Healthcare said: “We are excited to bring a new luxury care home to the local area, providing residential and dementia care tailored to the individual.

“We are in the early stages of construction, and the home is due to open late 2025.”