Plans to flatten a ramshackle former town centre florist that "no one wants to rent" have been given the go-ahead.

The building in Belvedere Road, Broadstairs, was deemed to "offer little to the street scene" by Thanet District Council, as it approved the project.

In its place developer Urban Surveying and Design wants to erect a three-storey structure, equipped with ground-floor shop space and a flat above, on the site next High Street store Sweet Yesterdays.

The firm's managing director, Scott Rigden, says if the current building - which used to be home to The Secret Garden - was not to be transformed it would remain "disused space".

"No one's going to want to rent that space," he explained.

"It was very much a temporary building.

"It's got to a stage where it's in very poor condition and it's unlettable, so the owners made the decision to maximise the benefit of the site."

Surveyors working on behalf of the developer have conducted research with estate agents and concluded "there is a good demand for small business premises like this one in Broadstairs".

Mr Rigden expects the demolition work to begin in February, with building set to commence the following month.

But some concerns have been raised about whether the new structure will fit in with the rest of the historic town centre.

Broadstairs and St Peter's Town Council called for the scheme to be refused, arguing it is "not in keeping with the street-scene".

Mr Rigden stresses it has not yet been decided what type of business will move into the new shop space.

Drawings also show the flat above will be across two levels.

"It was disused space, and there's a hell of a lot of that around the town centre, so we have thought carefully about how we can make that area useful," Mr Ridgen added.

"The top floor will also have a roof terrace with some nice sea views."

Sweet Yesterdays will remain untouched, however the top floor of the building will be knocked through to join it with the new structure.