Grange Moor Hotel Maidstone: 42-Room HMO Plan Refused

Maidstone Borough Council has refused permission to turn the closed Grange Moor Hotel into a 42-room house in multiple occupation.

The decision notice is dated 30 October 2026. Officers made the decision themselves, so the plan never went to the Planning Committee (decision notice, 26/502329/FULL).

The scheme on St Michael’s Road, in Fant, would have housed up to 66 people. The officer’s report counts about 223 letters of objection (delegated report). We counted 331 public comments on the file in October, of all kinds. Maidstone and Malling MP Helen Grant and ward councillor Paul Harper both opposed it.

The three reasons

The notice gives three grounds. Each one weighs the 66 residents alongside the 16 already allowed in a nearby HMO at 9 St Michael’s Road.

• Local services: the number of residents “would put substantial pressure on local facilities and social and community infrastructure”.
• Neighbours: more comings and goings, and people gathering outside, would bring “noise and disturbance, potential anti-social behaviour and harm to the character of the area”.
• Community balance: the “transitory nature” of HMO living would “reduce community integration and cohesion”. The notice says the loss of the hotel as a community venue makes this worse.

What did not count against it

Several of the objections residents raised did not make it into the refusal. The report found:

• parking was acceptable, with one space per room as the council’s HMO guidance asks
• bin storage was satisfactory
• traffic would not justify a refusal, and Kent County Council Highways did not get involved
• listed buildings were not harmed, and the conservation officer thought the scheme would improve the building’s appearance
• the hotel’s closure was backed by evidence that it was no longer commercially viable, which the report acknowledges while still weighing the lost venue
• property values are not a planning matter and carried limited weight

The 10% test was not what decided it

Before the decision, the applicant and Cllr Harper disagreed over the council’s rule of thumb. It says HMOs should not exceed 10% of homes within 100 metres. The applicant counted none inside that circle. Cllr Harper counted three on the road.

The report does not settle that argument. It says the test was designed for ordinary houses being converted. Each building counts once, however many bedrooms it has, so the test “does not account for larger-scale schemes” like this one.

The harm, the report says, comes from “the scale and intensity” of one building holding up to 66 people.

The report also accepts that the site could lawfully reopen as a hotel, which could also bring in many visitors. It says a hotel is different because it is managed, has staff on site and its guests stay for short periods.

What it means for you

• The building stays empty for now. The applicant’s planning statement says the hotel closed in 2025; the officer’s report says it has been vacant since earlier this year. Refusal does not stop it reopening as a hotel, or a new application being made.
• The applicant can appeal. The notice allows six months from its date, which runs to the end of April 2027. The planning portal shows no appeal so far.
• You may not get a second say. The government says that in most appeals on applications dated from 1 April 2026, no one will be able to comment. The council must tell people who commented on the application within five working days of an appeal being made, and say whether they can comment.

Our earlier report has the full scheme and what the consultees said. Our guide to Maidstone planning applications explains how officer and committee decisions work.