Plans have been submitted to convert disused brutalist town centre office blocks into a raft of new townhouses and apartments.

However, some have criticised the design as “stale” and not in keeping with the Victorian feel of the area, much of which was designed by a world-renowned architect.

Philips House and Eynsham House in Tunbridge Wells town centre have sat empty since last year, after housing health insurance giants AXA Health for about 30 years.

In February, developers Kier Property and the Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) launched a website promoting their plans to “transform a vacant office location into a new residential neighbourhood” on the site.

The full plans for 38 townhouses and six apartments at the Crescent Road site have now been submitted to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s (TWBC) planning department.

The firms had previously said they planned to create 46 properties, whereas the full application is for 44.

“There is low demand for office space in Tunbridge Wells and a much greater need for family housing” the planning documents read.

“The existing building is unsuitable and uneconomic for conversion,” they explain.

“If apartments are arranged around the perimeter of the building there would be a large area of dark, unusable space in the centre.”

They also write that the abodes are intended to be “sympathetic” to the distinctive Victorian architectural style of the town.

However, neighbour Edward Chaput de Saintonge wrote to the planning department saying: “While I have no objection to the removal of these buildings and installing new family housing, I do object to the design.

“They feel a little stale, mass-produced and fairly typical of any new build you may find in the larger cities.

“These are going up in the Decimus heartlands and I feel that his legacy should be represented in these designs.”

Much of Royal Tunbridge Wells, including the nearby Calverley Grounds, was designed by revered architect Decimus Burton.

“Will we ever lure a royal visitor to the Hotel du Vin to reinvigorate our Royal status with these houses on its doorstep?” Mr de Saintonge added.

Alastair Tod, planning secretary of Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society said the plans were “very disappointing.”

“It’s a key site in the centre of the town, opposite the Town Hall and the Assembly Hall of course, completely surrounded by listed buildings, and what they’re offering us is a banal piece of developers’ standard housing,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

“In this particular case we wish that better use had been made of the site.”

He added that nearby sites, such as the Mount Pleasant Avenue car park currently being marketed by the council, are “crying out for redevelopment.”

“I realise the developers may need 44 units in order to make their sums add up but it could have been done better than this,” Mr Tod continued.

“It could be done better in terms of public access to Calverley grounds, and linking it to whatever’s going to happen on the car park site.”

The Mount Pleasant Avenue car park is being marketed as having “excellent redevelopment prospects.”

Cllr Hugo Pound (Lab), also said he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated” by the proposals.

The site “quite obviously should be offering a denser mix of market, social and affordable housing for all the young people and families who want to stay or move here,” he said.

Under the current plans, no affordable housing is provided, with the developers arguing the scheme would not be financially viable if they did.

Cllr Pound continued: “I’ve had meetings with Kier and exchanged very frank emails about their proposals and, to date, they have chosen to ignore me, the Town Forum and the Civic Society, all of whom are trying to represent residents’ and businesses’ interests.

“I have a meeting with them and hope to see some movement away from this wholly inappropriate proposal.

“Yet again, this application confirms that the planning process needs a complete overhaul; it is not fit for purpose and only benefits the developers.”

It is not yet known when TWBC’s planning committee will decide on the bid.