Council houses will be built on the site of a former care home which burnt down.

Lennox Wood retirement home in Twydall, Gillingham, was destroyed in an arson attack in October 2015.

Medway Council housing services applied to build 19 homes between two and six bedrooms on the land, at Petham Green, earlier this year.

The home closed in 2009 and the site became a target for anti-social behaviour.

In October 2015 the derelict building was destroyed by fire and nearby houses had to be evacuated as the blaze ripped through the large two-storey building.

The remains of the property were later demolished and the site is now overgrown with only rubble left.

Councillors unanimously approved the plans at a planning committee meeting yesterday (Wednesday, October 19).

Ward representative Cllr Mark Prenter (Lab) said while he welcomed the redevelopment of a brownfield site, he thought the type of homes - which will be a mix of terraced, semi-detached, and one detached - could have been changed.

He said: "I welcome the social housing, we need the social housing.

"But I feel that this was a missed opportunity to provide more bungalow accommodation which is needed in Twydall for the elderly to downsize - which they want to do - and then free up other housing across the site."

The land had been subject to a number of planning applications over the past decade; an application for 24 homes was withdrawn in 2013 and, the following year, an application for 20 homes was initially refused by council planners but granted approval at appeal.

Despite this, another application was submitted in 2016, also for 20 homes, which was approved with conditions but these plans never materialised.