A former bank in Rochester High Street which has fallen into disrepair after Barclays moved out eight years ago is to be transformed into a luxury office block.

Star House, at the junction with Star Hill, has been branded an eyesore by traders and residents.

But now the Crossley Group, which has occupied the floors above the bank since it became vacant and last year took over the ground floor, is undertaking widescale renovation to transform the dated 1970s premises into a sleek headquarters for a chartered accountants company.

Bob Ratcliffe, president of the City of Rochester Society, said: “Architecturally, there’s not much I can say about the building, only that it is typical of its era. It is one of the things people see when they come into the old High Street. So anything has to be an improvement.”

External renovation work began at the end of last month and the project should take about three months to complete.

Trevor Rose, a partner at Crossley Group, said: “We are great supporter of local people and businesses, employing a variety of staff through our apprenticeship programme and local university graduates, providing us the opportunity to train everyone we employ.

“We want to build a work environment that our staff enjoy coming to work for as you can see from the artist’s impression, it will transform the building.”.

The Crossley Group established itself in Medway in 1964 and employs three fully-qualified partners and 70 support staff.