The approach to Kingston will “look like the gates of Mordor” if a plan to build a 16-storey high-rise goes ahead.

This was just one of the comments levelled at the latest planning application for the old post office site in Ashdown Road, likening the proposal to the malevolent gates in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy which were guarded by the Dark Lord’s Orcs.

The plans were displayed by developer St George at a public exhibition last weekend.

The proposals include buildings ranging from four to 16 storeys for residential use, a restaurant, office space, leisure or retail use and car parking.

Kingston Residents’ Alliance (KRA) member Sharron Sumner, said: “They [the developers] confirmed that the main tower is 59 metres tall and just 60cms lower than Kingston College. I think having this new tower opposite the Kingston College tower will make the approach to Kingston look like the gates of Mordor.”

Mediha Boran, also a KRA member, said: “[The] question is, is ‘bad’ better than ‘terrible’? The current scheme must stand on its own two feet and not be compared to previous versions.”

When proposals were first submitted, a tower with 21 storeys was planned before this was scaled down to 19 storeys with the current proposal reduced to 16.

Sean Bashforth, director of planning consultancy Quod, explained the changed application for client St George.

He wrote: “In response to feedback and design development, the design of the scheme has been further refined in a number of respects.

“This has resulted in alterations to the height and massing of the proposals.”