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Publisher’s HQ to be bulldozed under homes plan

A regional publisher plans to bulldoze its headquarters as part of a redevelopment which will see 55 homes built and a new base for the company constructed.

The KM Group has been based at headquarters at Larkfield, near Maidstone, since 1971 but the company said the office is no longer suitable for its needs.

It has partnered with housing developer Redrow for the redevelopment, which would see 55 homes built on part of the four-acre site as well as new offices.

A planning application has been submitted to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council which if approved would see KM staff moved to work at other offices across the county while building work takes place before returning to the newly-built HQ next summer.

The group’s new offices would be built by developers George Wilson and Mark Quinn, who have previously worked with the publisher on the construction of its Whitstable office.

KM Group managing director Richard Elliot said: “The Larkfield building served us well when we were purely a newspaper publisher, but KM Group has evolved into a multimedia company and we need a headquarters that reflects our current needs.”

He added large parts of the current site have been left vacant since the KM Group restructured its business, including the former press hall, as its titles are now printed by Trinity Mirror.

No newspapers are based at the site, with it instead housing departments such as HR, pre-press and telesales.

The company owns newspapers across Kent including the Kent Messenger, the Kentish Gazette and the Thanet Extra, while it also runs websites and a number of radio stations.