Controversial plans for a KFC drive-thru have been scrapped.

After a lengthy planning battle to gain permission for the fast-food outlet to be built at Oast House in Hollow Lane, Snodland, the site is now up for sale.

Proposals for the fried-chicken eatery were submitted in April 2019 but refused by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council in June the following year.

But, just six months after that the decision was overturned by a planning inspector who approved the divisive proposals which had attracted more than 300 objections from people who were unhappy with the drive-thru on a residential street.

Three years on from the initial plans the Oast House sits empty with a for sale sign erected at the front, signalling the applicant’s decision to ditch plans after a failure to buy a “slither of land” from a “stubborn owner”.

It now has planning permission for nine homes to be built on the land and the owner is open to selling the site for the “right price”, but “ideally wants to let it”.

Snodland West councillor David Lettington was happy to see the proposal dropped.

He said: “I’m very pleased it’s not going head, it’s much better to be residential homes.

“I much prefer to see residential rather than KFC.

“I’m more than happy to have it at the northern end of the town near McDonald’s and Costa, but it wasn’t a good idea for Hollow Lane.

“We were concerned about a lot of smells, and in particular the noise late at night due to the late opening hours and lack of parking on the site. What they proposed wasn’t sufficient.”

When plans were initially announced they drew heavy criticism from some, including Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch, saying she was “appalled” by the inspectors decision, where he said the council had failed to put forward any reasonable grounds to justify its refusal and awarded costs to the applicant, Zenacrown Ltd.

She said: “I am appalled by the decision from the inspector and would love to know whether he actually visited the site and, if so how, on earth he thinks that a KFC in the middle of a residential area and near a school is at all acceptable.

“I shall be encouraging the council to appeal against the inspector’s decision in the strongest terms.”

The KFC was planned for an old oast house just off Malling Road which has stood empty since early 2018 when it was vacated by Britannia windows.

'"I'm very pleased it's not going ahead..."

The borough council’s decision to refuse permission back in June 2020 was by a majority vote of 18 to one.

Plans included a drive-thru lane, 29 car parking spaces and claimed the outlet would create 45 part and full-time jobs.

The borough had refused permission on the grounds of the detrimental effects of noise and disturbance to neighbours.

The inspector noted that although the street was “predominately residential”, there were a number of businesses, including a hand car-wash, petrol station, and the Freemasons Arms public house nearby.

After news a for sale sign had been erected outside the site, there was a mixed reaction on social media.

One woman wrote: “I live practically next door and I don’t want to be smelling any of that **** all day everyday.

“Not to mention the rats it would bring to the nearby properties. Snodland has enough takeaways.”

While another commented: “We have enough fast food outlets in Snodland. What we do need is to see the boarded up shops in the High Street occupied with decent shops.”

A third person wrote: “The majority of Snodland wanted it. It was mainly the ones that live down that end who were against the idea.”