A car park opens today creating 250 spaces, with 100 of them earmarked for council staff and company workers during the week.

The extra spots at the Sandling Road car park in Maidstone are being offered as part of the area’s redevelopment after the acquisition of the former Royal Mail site near Maidstone East rail station by Kent County Council (KCC) and Maidstone Borough Council (MBC).

Permit holders will be provided with 100 spaces in the undercroft from Monday to Friday, but these will be made available to the public at weekends. Out of the 100 spots, 66 will be dedicated for KCC staff, the rest shared between several companies.

The refurbished site has both indoor and outdoor spaces, plus CCTV coverage. It will be open from 5am to midnight and is managed by MBC Parking Services with drivers charged £1.10 for one hour and £2.20 for three hours.

Up to 20 cycle parking spaces are also set to be added.

At the same time Demelza Hospice Care for Children has signed a contract to take over a 26,000 sq ft building to house its main retail warehouse and distribution centre.

The move will see the charity leave its Sittingbourne warehouse, but from late summer the new centre in Maidstone will benefit from dedicated spaces for loading close to the building.

Demelza says the centre will create both staff and volunteer job opportunities and allow it to upcycle furniture and house a recycling area.

MBC and KCC have agreed a blueprint for the Maidstone East regeneration project. The contract is expected to be awarded in August.

The former Royal Mail site is next to Maidstone East railway station and commuter car park, both of which are owned by Network Rail, and Cantium House, an office building owned by KCC.

It is anticipated that the first tenants will move into the 10,000 sq ft former Royal Mail building, which has three floors, during the summer.

A long-term plan is being put in place for the area which hopes to secure retail interest. Previous schemes to bring an Asda and a Tesco to the site fell through.