Building work has started on a five-storey block of flats on the former site of a care home, which was forced to close due to poor conditions.

Fairfield Manor in Broadstairs was shut down by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2014 after inspectors concluded residents were victims of "harm and neglect".

Now, the site in Fairfield Road, opposite Dane Court Grammar School, has been flattened to make way for 52 "elegant" flats aimed towards the over-60s.

The new development by McCarthy and Stone was approved by Thanet District Council in 2020.

Work is now well underway for the building, which will help "meet the current and projected critical need for special needs housing for the elderly within Thanet".

The homes are set to be ready in summer 2023.

Developers claim the new-build will provide economic benefits to the community, as older people are more likely to use small local shops within walking distance to the property, as well as "revitalising the housing market" by freeing up larger homes for growing families.

The care home that previously stood on the 1.2-acre plot drew criticism from CQC inspectors for a host of failings, including relating to the storing of medication and private documents, poor management and unacceptable levels of care.

The report recalled patients telling inspectors: "I feel like I am just left here to rot."

The regulator also said the home, ran at the time by Orchard Care, gave "no consideration to people's end of life care", and when residents showed self-harming behaviour, no effort was made to refer them to psychiatric professionals.

"We found a culture of poor management and poor leadership," the report read.

"This meant that people experienced poor care."

The site has sat empty since residents were moved out in August 2014, with a "high quality development" which will "positively enhance the townscape" in Broadstairs set to take its place.

The "stunning new retirement living development", named Pearson House, will have lifts to all five floors, a communal lounge, a 24/7 emergency call system and an on-site house manager.

A total of 38 parking spaces will be available, as well as landscaped gardens and a retained stone wall with large trees around the property.

The flats will be ready for residents in July next year.