The next steps paving the way for a holiday apartment complex overlooking a river to be built have been taken.

Developers are preparing to clear the site for the replacement building in Sandwich which is set to feature a new bar or restaurant.

Applicants have submitted a demolition plan to Dover District Council which sets out there will be no lorry movements during the rush hour to help prevent traffic congestion and none at evenings and weekends.

The document outlining the plans is in preparation for pulling down Bridge Wharf House, an old residential block on the northern bank of the River Stour in Ramsgate Road.

It adds: “HGV movements to and from the site during the demolition phase will be relatively few including the delivery of demolition plant and removal of any waste.”

The lorries will stick to a designated route of A256 Sandwich Bypass, Monks Way and Ramsgate Road, according to the update submitted on May 14.

A timescale for when work could begin has not been confirmed but planning officers at DDC are due to make a decision by July 10.

The development is for a two to three-storey building with nine visitor apartments overlooking the river, it would also have a terrace area and a bar and/or restaurant on the ground floor.

The application is by Ramac Group and the agents are Nexus Planning of Reading.

The site is next to the historic toll bridge and faces the town centre across the river.

Bridge Wharf House is a two-storey mid-20th century building, which has “a lack of any architectural merit or quality,” according to consultants OSG Architecture.

Its report adds: “It has come to the end of its natural design life - its construction and poor levels of insulation make it unsuitably warm in the summer and expensive to heat in the winter.”

Dover District Council granted full planning permission for the new development in November 2021.

Only two members of the public submitted objections to the council's planning portal, one fearing not enough parking was being provided.

Kent County Council’s highways department was not against the scheme, saying 14 spaces were provided for the nine flats.

It said restaurant and bar customers could use the nearby town centre car parks.

Sandwich Town Council also raised no objections.