Plans to future-proof a 90-year-old bakery by building flats behind it have been refused - in part because of the smells new residents would be “subjected” to.

Simon Reynolds, the third-generation owner of A.E. Barrow & Sons Ltd in Sittingbourne High Street, said he was “disappointed” by the decision, which he had hoped would give him the income to allow his business to flourish for decades to come.

He had wanted to demolish part of the bakery – which sells cakes, pastries, bread and sandwiches – and build a block of six apartments at the rear.

But Swale council has pulled the plug on the plans.

It said people in the flats would be “subjected to odours and disturbance” and that those on the ground floor would have “poor levels of light, outlook and sense of enclosure” which would be harmful to their living conditions.

It also said the four-storey building would “fail to respect the historic townscape,” while the part of the building set to be flattened had “heritage significance”.

The firm was launched by William Barrow as the Carlton Cafe in 1931.

It passed to his daughter Jean Reynolds who ran the bakery until 2009 when her son, Simon, took over.

He now has 42 years of experience under his belt.

He said that he was “not surprised” by the decision but “disappointed” about some of the reasons the council gave for the rejection.

“We are now considering our options and are having further talks with the council”, he said.

“These will dictate whether will put in our amended plans or whether we will scrap them altogether.

“There are options to invest the money that we put aside for these plans into what we already have.

“Some of the reasons they gave for turning down our plans were disappointing like the ground floor argument that they would be overlooked.

“But aren’t all ground floor flats? The other thing was about the smell and noise.

“We have one gentleman who lives in a flat next door and he said he loves smelling bread in the mornings – which is lovely of him.

“But we will see what will happen.”

Mr Reynolds submitted the plans on February 2 and they were refused on Monday, June 24.

The site would have covered 3,000 square metres and included two car parking spaces as well as a storage room for bins and bike racks.

There were six two-bedroom apartments planned - one for the ground floor and two on the first and second floors which would have had balconies.

On the third floor, there would have been a single two-bed apartment with a roof terrace and garden.

Access for vehicles was planned to be off St Michael’s Road while pedestrians would have been able to walk through from Sittingbourne High Street.