Former hotel could be turned into 42-bedroom HMO just a year after £500,000 refurbishment

A former hotel could be turned into a 42-bedroom HMO just one year after a £500,000 refurbishment. Mark Smith, owner of The Grange Moor, claimed he consistently received offers from organisations wanting to house asylum seekers at the hotel, but wished for it to become accommodation for people within the town 'who need it most'.He added that he had tried to make the business work but was forced to shut in December following a decline in customers.Proposals now sent to the council would see the three-star hotel, which was recently rebranded The Apartell, transformed into 42 co-living accommodation units. The property would offer communal workspaces, a gym, laundry room, garden and allotment spaces. There would also be private parking, solar panels, bicycle storage and recycling areas. But nearby residents have condemned the plans, saying they have 'serious concerns about the scale and intensity' of the project. One local, who submitted a written objection to the council, said: 'Enough is enough. Maidstone is sliding into the mire. 'I no longer see it as the proud, thriving county town of my early years in the 50s and 60s. It is a disgrace of which I am ashamed.' The Grange Moor in Maidstone could be turned into a 42-bedroom HMO if plans are approvedThey added that the town is a 'quiet, respectable residential area and definitely no place for such an establishment'. Another person wrote to the council about the fact that Fant, the area of town the hotel sits in, has more HMOs than anywhere else in Maidstone.They wrote: 'The infrastructure is not there. The GP surgeries are overloaded. The schools are not coping. The population in this ward is ridiculous. The crime will be off the roof. The police will be stretched.'This road already has a very large HMO planned and agreed. It cannot take another one.'This cannot take place. This hotel needs to be either sold as a hotel or closed down and houses built for families with children.'I have lived here for 25 years, and it is now a ghetto.'A third local added: 'Residents living nearby, including families and children, should be able to feel safe and secure in their neighbourhood.'I am particularly concerned about the potential for a large concentration of unrelated adult residents in one building and believe the applicant should clearly demonstrate what management, supervision, safeguarding and security arrangements will be provided.' Proposals sent to the council would see the three-star hotel, which was recently rebranded The Apartell, turned into 42 co-living accommodation unitsOwner Mr Smith told KentOnline: 'I purchased the hotel in 2023 after it had remained unsold for several years and was being considered for use as asylum accommodation. 'Throughout my ownership, I have been approached on several occasions by organisations seeking to use the building as asylum accommodation, proposals which I have consistently and firmly declined.' Mr Smith added that he has since decided to try and make the property into accommodation for people who 'need it most'. It comes after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she is targeting a mixed model of asylum accommodation by utilising military sites, former student apartments, bedsits and houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). Meanwhile, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to push ahead with his plans to send asylum seekers to wealthier areas even if there's a higher cost for taxpayers.Recent Home Office figures showed there were 97,519 people in receipt of asylum support at the end of March this year.Of these, 20,885 were in hotel accommodation while 3,866 were getting subsistence support only – i.e. solely receiving weekly money from the Government for basic living needs such as food, clothing and toiletries.Another 72,768 were in 'other' accommodation including 'dispersal' accommodation, typically comprising flats or houses often set up as HMOs.Maidstone Council declined to comment.