A new planning application has come forward to convert a town centre office block into flats.

Medvale House in Mote Road, Maidstone, was once used as offices for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), but it has stood vacant since the government vacated the building in 2021.

The suggestion that the property should be converted into flats was first floated in 2017.

Since then, there have been two successful grants of planning permission: the first was to Cannon Capital Development Ltd in April 2020, which permitted the buiding’s conversion to 81 flats and provided 20 parkings space.

In 2021, a new permission was granted to Convivia Construction Ltd for 88 flats with 24 parking spaces.

The current application before the borough council - which is part retrospective - comes from Medvale Homes (Maidstone) Ltd and is for 87 apartments, of which 61 would have one bedroom, 19 would have two bedrooms, and seven would have three bedrooms.

There would be just 21 parking spaces for the 87 households, excused by the building’s prominent location in the town centre, close to the High Street, to The Mall shopping centre and to a large Sainsbury’s store.

Vehicle access would be via Romney Place.

No affordable housing units are proposed and there is no outdoor amenity space.

The 1970s building comprises a basement, ground floor and seven storeys.

The Move Market property website records the last sale of the building as being in 2021 for £5m, but since then it has been marketed by Lewis Ellis for £4.5m.

It sits close to a number of former office blocks that have already been converted to flats: Miller Heights to 100 apartments, and the adjacent Kent House to 92.

Alongside it is the Mote Road car park, where Appin Land Ltd has been granted permission to build 172 flats in two blocks of 11 and 12 storeys (application number 20/505707).

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

Details of the current application can be found on the Maidstone council website under application number 25/500559.