A developer has vowed to splash out a quarter of a million pounds to fix an imposing block of flats said to “look like the Titanic.”

Permission was granted two years ago for a brick-finished building of 12 apartments in Canterbury Road, Whitstable, in keeping with surrounding properties.

But instead, a white building recently branded “ugly” and “out of character” was constructed.

Last week, a Canterbury City Council planning meeting heard how neighbours were shocked at the scale of the finished “bulky” building.

Speaking after the meeting, developer John Morley has vowed to work with the authority to rectify the problem.

“We are sorry. There have been mistakes but we are working to fix them.

“When we bought the building a year and a half ago it was very run down.

“It was a drug den, with over 200 rats and 50 pigeons. The building is here now, we made a mistake but we followed professional advice.

“It's going to cost me a quarter of a million pounds, but we are saying sorry, and we want to fix it. I accept that.”

Speaking to MailOnline, he added: “It's not like I have said 'stuff the lot of you, I have a shed load of money, I am going to do what I want, and I am going to dominate Whitstable.'

“That is nonsense, I live here, and have a young family. Why would I want to upset the apple cart?”.

The 52-year-old, of development firm Whitstable Nest, says he is working with the planning department and new architects to make changes.

He also asked residents to be patient while a plan is put in place.

Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies confirmed this week the authority is “considering options around enforcement”.

"The original planning permission was granted a few years ago but the building was not constructed in accordance with the planning permission,” he said.

"The planning application that was refused at the planning committee on Tuesday was for permission for revised drawings that are largely the same as what has been built, with some changes to the roof.

"The developer made his revised planning application only after our planning enforcement team investigated the case and called out the breach with the developer. While the application was under consideration, the developer was aware that the continued building works he was carrying out were at his own risk.

"Following the committee's refusal, we are now considering options around enforcement, but are not in a position to confirm details about this at the moment."

Earlier this week, residents said they were left in tears at the sight of the “monolith” and say it has knocked tens of thousands of pounds off the value of their homes.

Chartered architect of 35 years Michael Shoobridge is a friend of the residents and also fought their case at the planning committee.

He argued the block has a “monolithic presence,” adding: “You don’t need to debate over the drawings to see how oppressive this structure is you can go and see it for yourself in three dimensions”.