A small hotel and B&B is set to be turned into five flats as it is the “only financially viable way forward”.

Owners of the Rock House Hotel in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, took over in March 2015 and say they have struggled to match the prices of chain hotels such as the Premier Inn and Travelodge.

Now, an application to turn the 15-bedroom building into flats has been submitted to Maidstone council.

A planning statement on behalf of the applicants stated the change of use “won’t detract from the economy of the area” but would provide “much-needed permanent accommodation”.

It went on to say its nearest competitor, The Grange Moor in St Michael’s Road, is in a “poorer condition” but benefits from having a restaurant, bar and function rooms.

Since new owners took over nearly a decade ago, the hotel has been completely refurbished and it “consistently achieves very good reviews on TripAdvisor”.

The B&B has a four-out-of-five star rating on the review site, with guests describing it as “friendly and professional”.

The planning statement continued: “The owners constantly monitor the local competition and adjust room rates accordingly. However the bigger players in the town centre, the chain hotels; Premier Inn and Travelodge are able to offer rooms, at quieter times, cheaper than they can afford to do.”

A section of the site, which has been used as a hotel for the last 30 years, is Victorian and was previously used as a school.

It was founded in 1918 as the co-educational Junior Technical School for Boys and the Junior Commercial School for Girls.

Known as the Maidstone Technical School, it was based at two sites in Maidstone town centre – Faith Street and Tonbridge Road.

However, by the 1950s the school had outgrown these sites and a new site was found at Oakwood Park, further along Tonbridge Road.

The B&B is in the Fant ward, which already has the most HMOs in the borough – leading to those living in the area complaining they feel under siege.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.

Use reference 24/503223/FULL for the full details.