A former clubbing hotspot is set to be turned into a new conference centre and extra rooms for a hotel next door.

The Excalibur Nightclub at the King Charles Hotel in Gillingham once hosted such musical legends as The Prodigy and Rick Astley.

But the venue was torn down in 2019 after being shut for more than 20 years.

Now, plans to extend part of the three-star hotel in Brompton Road into a two-storey “architecturally outstanding building” have been given the green light.

The former nightclub shut in 1998 after nine years of business, leaving the neighbouring hotel open and operational.

As part of the plans, the hotel will go from having 97 rooms to 121, and will include a conference venue with a capacity of 1,170.

Planning documents claim the number of employees will more than double from 20 to 50, with 60 existing car parking spaces growing to 91.

Previously, Hay Architects, who are behind the design of the plans, said: “The King Charles Hotel is a three-storey flat roof building in need of significant investment to update and improve the facilities on offer, as well as enhance the external appearance of the hotel.

"The proposed hotel accommodation would be in the form of a sensitive new mansard-style roof extension, creating a four-storey building and an additional 24 en-suite bedrooms.

"It would constitute a modest and appropriate roof level addition to the building, which we believe would represent a visual enhancement compared to the flat roof design of the existing hotel.

"The hotel facilities would also be updated internally which would improve the level of accommodation on offer.

"[Meanwhile] the conference facility constitutes a contemporary high-quality architectural design which would add to the overall quality, and visually enhance the streetscape in Prince Arthur Road and Brompton Road.

"It would sit comfortably within the hotel grounds on the location of the former nightclub.

"Our vision is for a niche, architecturally outstanding statement building - a landmark which creates a destination for visitors to this location."

The hotel opened in July 1948 and cost £150,000 to build.

It was originally used as a Naval, Army and Air Force (NAAFI) club for service personnel based in the nearby Brompton Barracks and Naval yard.

It closed its doors in July 1962 due to several servicemen being taken out of Medway.

After lying vacant, the property was eventually taken over in 1980 and named The King Charles Hotel, with the dance halls once used by NAAFI members being converted into a nightclub – it became The Regency in 1982 before its final incarnation as Excalibur in 1989.

Following its closure nine years later, an application was submitted to Medway Council in 2019 to convert it into 57 flats across a four and five-storey block.

However, the plans were rejected due to their design being perceived as "bulky, dominant and prominent within the site”.

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.

For this application, use reference MC/23/2754.