Yalding could be about to lose its oldest pub.

The George in Benover Road has been closed since January, with the owners saying the business was no longer viable.

Now they have submitted a planning application to Maidstone Borough Council seeking permission to convert the building, which dates from 1546, into three flats.

Planning agent Julie Keeley said the pub had been flooded in 2000 and again in 2013, and loss of earnings from months of enforced closure, plus increased insurance costs had taken their toll.

Attempts to sell the property as a going concern had failed.

The applicants said the conversion would maintain the exterior of the historic building, while installing measures to limit any future flood threat.

Miss Keeley said the conversion would ensure the building did not fall into disrepair, but would put some new life into the village with the proposed new dwellings, also keeping the character of the village intact.

To comment on the application, visit maidstone.gov.uk and search for planning reference 15/501156.