A disused nightclub should be purchased by the council and turned into temporary accommodation for the homeless, it has been suggested.

KentOnline revealed last week that plans to turn the Source of Sound nightclub in Tonbridge into 23 private apartments had been abandoned after the developer went into receivership.

The site in Avebury Avenue has now been placed on the market for sale through Watling Real Estate.

It is advertising the property as having planning permission for 12 one-bed, 8 two-bed and 3 three-bed apartments, plus a ground floor commercial unit, but says it has the potential for expansion to 34 units.

The nightclub, known locally just as SOS, closed seven years ago on Christmas Eve, 2017. The site is just two minutes walk from Tonbridge High Street.

Cllr Mark Hood (Green) who represents Judd Ward on Tonbridge and Malling council, said the site presented the borough with the opportunity to expand its temporary housing stock.

He said: “Green Party councillors have been monitoring the situation with the abandoned development site in River Lawn Road/Avebury Avenue carefully for months.

“Given the runaway cost to the borough of providing temporary accommodation, I wrote to Matt Boughton, the leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, and to Kim Tanner, the cabinet member for housing back in March, asking them to step in after we identified that the owners were in trouble.

“We proposed that the borough purchase the site and develop it for temporary accommodation, as relying on the private sector to provide such housing is threatening to drag many councils - including ours - into insolvency.

“Additionally, the huge mass of split sheeting adorning the enormous scaffolding around the building has dominated this part of Tonbridge for far too long.

“We had been repeatedly assured that building work would be recommencing, but now residents face even greater uncertainty while the council waits for a new owner to be found and then possibly amended planning applications - perhaps for an even bigger development.”

But Cllr Hood’s suggestion has been rejected by the council.

He said: “They have told us that they do not have the necessary experience to take on a development of this kind.

“Frankly, if finishing off a half-started development of 23 units which already has planning permission is beyond the council’s capability, that’s a little concerning, especially considering they are about to embark on a major town centre regeneration project around the Angel Centre.”

Cllr Hood said young people were increasingly leaving Tonbridge because they could not afford to purchase a home there.

He said: “This is not the way to create and maintain cohesive communities, when only the wealthiest can afford a home.

“The council needs to set up a housing company and fill the void that the housing market cannot fill.”

No sale price has been listed for the property, with Watling Real Estate inviting offers.

A spokesman for Tonbridge and Malling council said: “Social and affordable housing in Tonbridge and Malling is provided through a combination of specialist providers and developers, rather than the council.

“We appreciate the challenges that many people face getting onto the property ladder and therefore use our planning powers to require larger new developments to comprise 40 per cent affordable housing.

“With regard to temporary accommodation, we do have a responsibility to house those facing homelessness.

“We currently own or lease 23 properties for this purpose and are looking to add a further 19 units in Tonbridge town centre to our stock.”

We don’t believe this is a suitable site for us

“We are aware of the problems with the partially built development in Avebury Avenue, and while we are always willing to explore options to increase our supply of temporary accommodation, we don’t believe this is a suitable site for us to pursue at the present time.”

Any developer taking on the site now will have to contend with any harm caused through weather and potential vandalism, with the site having been left half-finished for the past nine months.