A former working-class club could be replaced with two apartment blocks after bosses rejected an offer from Starbucks.

Ashford International Sports and Social Club, on the corner of Beaver Road and Norman Road, would be demolished to make way for 31 flats under plans submitted in 2021.

However, the design was rejected in September 2022, with one councilor saying “if there was an Olympic sport for boring architecture, this would be getting a gold medal”.

Now a new proposal submitted by Yellowstone 2023 Ltd to Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has seen the number of flats increase to 34.

The plans rejected two years ago included a replacement facility for the club, with the flats added to secure the club’s future, bosses explained at the time.

But after the plan was thrown out by the ABC amid concerns over the height of the flats, the club sold the site to Yellowstone 2023 Ltd, which is part of Sidcup-based developer Blackstone Estates.

Planning documents reveal how Starbucks was interested in building a drive-thru cafe on the land because it says there is an “ongoing requirement” for one in the area.

It had offered £936,000 subject to planning approval, but Yellowstone’s offer of £711,500 was accepted “on the basis of a quick sale”.

The company is now proposing a plan with 34 apartments spread over two four-story buildings with 38 parking spaces, but its plan does not include a replacement clubhouse.

Former club secretary Chris Dorsett says he wishes the applicants the best of luck with their bid.

“Apart from the absence of the new clubhouse, the application looks quite similar to our rejected application,” he said.

“I just hope that if the councilors on the current planning committee are the same members who refused our plans, they realize that their views prevented several hundred members from keeping a much-loved social club in Ashford.”

He said the official dissolution of the club, which had occupied that site for more than a century, was still ongoing.

In its filing, Yellowstone says its system has “evolved in terms of design focus since the previous rejection.”

“The proposal now shows a reduction in height and proposes two three-storey buildings,” it says.

“The fourth floor is also set back from the facade of the main building, reducing the overall mass and reducing the impact on the streetscape.”

An application to demolish the building, formerly Ashford Working Men’s Club, was granted last November, but has not yet gone ahead.

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It is not yet known when ABC will make a decision on the bid, but a deadline of February 12 has been set.

Because it is a live application, the agency dismissed Dorsett’s concerns.