Neighbours say they would have to keep their curtains shut 24/7 to protect their privacy if plans to build a block of flats are approved.

Developer Ikon wants to construct 26 apartments behind Laburnum Place near Lidl in Sittingbourne town centre.

The building would be six storeys at its tallest and sit on 2,000sq m of derelict land which used to be home to a pumping station.

The proposal is the latest application for high-rise apartments off St Michael’s Road, on the one-way system in the town.

Swale council has its own plans to build 51 apartments in three blocks of flats in the Cockleshell Walk car park, put forward last summer. The tallest there would be five storeys.

Residents say they don’t want the plans to go ahead as the flats will intrude on their privacy and cause parking issues.

Elaine and Leslie Brazier, aged 58 and 66, have lived in Laburnum Place for 16 years and fear they will have to keep their curtains shut at all times as the new flats will overlook their home.

“We don’t want it,” Elaine said, “people will be able to overlook my house from the flats which will invade our privacy.

“We’ll have to keep our curtains shut 24/7 just so people can’t look into our home. Why should I live in the dark because they want to build flats?”

Elaine, who works in a care home, also pointed to future parking battles as there would be just 13 allocated spaces – one of which is a disabled space – for the flats.

She said: “The people in the flats will take my car parking space, which is already hard to keep.

“When I come home from 12-hour shifts I shouldn’t have to worry about whether I’ll be able to park.”

Meanwhile, Chris Goodborn, whose house in Frederick Street backs onto the Cockleshell Walk car park, says his family wants to move due to the redevelopment plans there.

The 47-year-old fears for his daughter's privacy as her bedroom will be in the line of sight of the flats.

He said: “What a lot of us who live here are worried about is that our children's rooms are going to be overlooked and you never know who will be living in the flats.

“It also works the other way. Would the people living on the ground floor of the new flats want us to be able to look into their apartments?

“Even if these plans are rejected it will raise its head again as the council wants to build on the car park.

“So we want to move away from the area as the flats will be coming.”

That scheme is part of Swale council’s bid to build 170 affordable new homes on council-owned brownfield sites across the town. It has set up its own housing association, Rainbow Homes, to achieve this.

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

The developer behind the latest Laburnum Place plans, Ikon, bought the site in 2021 for £178,000. Since then former buildings have been removed but the site remains fenced off.

In a planning statement on its behalf, Consilium Town Planning Services Ltd said the apartments “will help contribute towards the borough’s housing and supply”.

It went on: “Whilst the proposal is relatively small it will make a contribution in a sustainable location.”

There would be a mix of apartments; 16-one bedroom, five two-bedroom and five three-bedroom.

Also included is a motorcycle bay and 26 cycle spaces.

For more on the plans click here using the planning reference number 24/500438/OUT

It is not known when a decision will be made on either of the schemes.

Ikon also had plans to turn the St John Ambulance hub, opposite St Michael’s Garage, into flats.

However, these were rejected for a second time last month.