A four-story building will be reinvigorated as a hotel aimed at the Chinese tourist market.

Planning permission to change 94-100 Chatham High Street and a neighbouring property in Manor Road, Chatham, into a 31-bedroom hotel with at least three stars has been given the go ahead.

Currently the building houses Cosmo Oriental Buffet on the ground floor, but all the other floors are vacant.

According to the tourism officer at Medway council the hotel is well located and because the applicant, Kevin Shen, has strong connections with Chinese tourist centres in London it is intended some of the visitors will be from the most populated country in the world.

“Rochester is very historic and in Chatham we have the dockyard. Then there’s Leeds Castle and other attractions nearby. I think Rochester will be booming.” - Mr Shen

The building is four storeys high at the front but due to the steep rise in ground levels the upper floors are accessed from the first floor, at the rear of the building, which is where the hotel entrance and reception area will be.

The building is not listed, but is characterful and dates back to the early 1900s so no significant changes will be made externally.The ground floor will stay as a restaurant and over the first, second and third floors there will be 13 double rooms, 12 single rooms, four family rooms and two rooms equipped for disabled guests.

The planning report states that bringing the building back into use “is to be welcomed both in terms of ensuring the future of the building and in terms of the regeneration of the wider area”.

Councillors approved the application during a Medway planning meeting on Wednesday.

Mr Shen first revealed the £500,000 plans in June last year when he explained why he thought it would be a success in Medway.

“Rochester is very historic and in Chatham we have the dockyard. Then there’s Leeds Castle and other attractions nearby. I think Rochester will be booming.”