A proposal for flats near Delfbridge Manor in Sandwich has been re-submitted after it was previously refused permission.

The planning application is for two, two-storey buildings containing eight flats and car parking at 10 Dover Road.

The previous application for 10 flats was refused by both Dover District Council and Sandwich Town Council in July this year.

DDC said its refusal was due to a loss of countryside, and the scale, height, mass and design of the building would be out of keeping with the rest of the road.

Members of the town council also claimed Dover Road would become over-developed with a Waitrose planned on site, a doctors surgery and pharmacy.

Cllr Joe Trussler said: “I do not like this scheme, it doesn’t fit in with the street scene. It’s like a tin shed.

"There is a highways issue, there are already 10 flats there. The fact is we’re going to get traffic from the supermarket and doctors surgery.

“It’s going to create a hell of a problem there coming in and out of that busy Dover Road near the junction.”

Cllr Paul Carter also claimed the flats would not be affordable housing for local people working in local businesses.

The new application has reduced the number of homes, which it claims would not increase traffic demand significantly.

A triangular amenity area which would be closest to the food store has been omitted from the application because the report states this would have the most noise impact from deliveries to Waitrose.

The application was also refused because the site is not inside the town boundaries.

But, the planning and access report says: “It can no longer realistically be argued that the development of the site for housing would conflict with the countryside protection objectives.”

It claims the supermarket will already “irreversibly alter the boundary of the built-up area in Sandwich”.

Although the scheme will not provide affordable homes, the developer is willing to make a financial contribution towards this kind of housing.

The building itself will be made of brickwork, timber cladding and render with a similar aesthetic look to that of the Willowbank development in Sandwich.