Plans for a 90-bedroom 'village' have been approved.

Three nurses' accommodation blocks in Springwood Road, Barming, near Maidstone, are now set to be turned into three-bedroom homes.

The remaining fourth block will be turned into a block of flats with eight flats boasting 24-bedrooms.

In total, the nurses' accommodation will be turned into 114 rooms and retain 21 car parking spaces.

The plans were approved at the end of October after being submitted seven months earlier in March.

Concerns among residents were raised about the level of traffic and parking conditions in the area, which is close to Maidstone Hospital.

Georgia Powell, of Springwood Road, told the council: "I do not think the current parking provision would be sufficient, and given the green space between blocks some of this could be repurposed into parking to ensure the area does not suffer.

"I think the council should ensure parking has been properly calculated/forecast and options to repurpose the green space considered before approving this application."

Cllr Paul Harper (Lab), who represents Fant ward, said: "Why would anyone plan a village of HMO [House in Multiple Occupation] on the edge of an urban area?

"Typically HMO are targeted at town centre workers in low paid sectors. On the edge of the countryside does not seem to meet the typical profile.

"However, NHS staffing accommodation within 10 minutes walk of a district hospital would make sense.

"I have concerns over the scale of the proposal."

Planning documents from the applicant Jedi Developments said: "The site is considered to be in a highly sustainable location and is within the settlement boundaries of Maidstone.

"There are two bus stops less than 180m from the site which provide services to Maidstone town centre, Wrotham Heath, Snodland, Kings Hill and Pembury.

"Barming has several local amenities including a community hall, local shops including a Tesco Express, a veterinary centre and local pubs and takeaway services."

Previously, six blocks were built to house around 144 nurses working at the hospital.

The controversial development joins many others in the Fant ward after the council said it was looking to crack down on HMOs in the area.

'Who would want them sat empty?'

You can view the plans here, with reference 22/501405/FULL.

Heath ward Cllr Ashleigh Kimmance (Lib Dem) is fully backing the plans despite an initial concern about parking.

He said: "There's no difference to when it was being used as nurses' accommodation, just the people are different.

"Rather than sitting idle and looking tatty they're being worked on and getting improvements.

"I'm all for it. I had concerns about the amount of parking but myself and Cllr Holmes went there the other day and it looks like more is being added."

Cllr Kimmance doesn't expect residents in the area to mind the new HMO 'village'.

He added: "It won't affect residents and in the current climate it's better to have these empty buildings filled.

"We're in a housing crisis and it's only going to get worse so it's important to fill these places. Who would want them sat empty?"