More houses are to be built in a town centre, at the cost of public car parking spaces.

The car parks on Queen Street and Slickett’s Hill in Chatham are to be sold off for development after councillors declared the 1.7 acre site surplus at Cabinet on Tuesday (May 13).

Outline planning consent was granted in April 2013 for a mixed used scheme of homes and businesses with 146 parking spaces and 202 cycle spaces.

The housing will consist of three and four bed houses, and one, two and three bed flats. The retail space will be for shops and financial/professional services.

Cllr Howard Doe, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Services, said: “Chatham is capable of being a first class centre. This kind of development will mean a whole new deal for Chatham.”

In selling the car parks, the council are losing 105 pay and display public parking spaces, and six disabled spaces. They will also lose the annual income provided by the car parks, which is around £68,500 a year.

The council believe there is enough space in other car parks to absorb the loss or parking and income. Approximately 780 spaces are unused in nearby car parks - 350 in Market Hall, 350 in the Brook and 80 in Whiffen’s Avenue.

Council Leader, Cllr Rodney Chambers, said that they would be working with Tesco to make Market Hall car park “more user friendly”.

Planning consent was granted subject to the approval of the appearance of the development. Plans must be submitted before April 21 2015 and development must start within two years of this being approved.