An arson-hit pub is set for a striking transformation after a bid to convert the derelict building into a into a family home was given the green light.

Father-and-son developers Ralph and Alistair Noel had launched two bids to demolish the former Plough Inn in Margate Road, Herne Bay, and replace it with a convenience store and flats in 2018.

But after Canterbury City Council rebuffed both applications - each time noting that the work would have led to the “unacceptable loss of a community facility” - the pair decided to revise their plans.

In their latest set of proposals - which this week have been given the go-ahead - they opted to keep the shell of the pub, convert it into a four-bedroom house, and erect a bungalow and a block of four flats on the plot.

Alistair said: “It’ll brighten up the area and improve what’s there.

“The council have helped us with something that will improve the neighbours’ quality of life because those in the immediate vicinity were concerned for a long time about the state of the pub.

“Currently, the building is a pub that’s become dilapidated - the roof has been stolen, there’s been a fire and people constantly use it as a fly-tipping site.”

Alistair previously told KentOnline a structural engineer had condemned the building.

It was also gutted in an early morning suspected arson attack in August 2018.

It is thought someone broke in and started the fire deliberately, with neighbours reporting seeing "idiots" climbing out of a first-floor window.

“The plans really improve something that otherwise would have been a hindrance to the community,” Alistair continued.

“I’d imagine it’ll cost somewhere in the region of £750,000 to develop.

“The flats will be for young couples or elderly people who want to downsize and the houses will be for medium-sized families. "They’re comparable to what’s already in the area at the moment.”

Alistair originally expected the development of the site to take up to 12 months - but he says the ongoing coronavirus crisis has left him unable to predict when the project will be completed.

“None of us know where it’s going to go or when it’s going to an end,” he added.

“We don’t even know if construction workers will still be able to work, so there’s no end date to it really now.”

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