From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Jenni Horn, 15 December 2020.

Bid to turn The Shipwrights Arms in Chatham into flats.

Another application has been made to turn a derelict pub into a block of flats.

The boarded up Shipwrights Arms in Chatham has been empty since it closed in 2018.

Last year an application was approved to convert the 1930s building into five flats, despite some objections. But now another bid has been made to increase this to seven flats.

The 2019 proposals were revised when concerns were raised by the council's planning committee in October that the two units on the top floor were too small. So the blueprints were changed to reduce the project from six flats to five and these updated plans were approved in December last year.

Now another application, under a different name, has been submitted which includes an extension to allow seven flats to be created.

The site in Hills Terrace has a long history with the planning department and another application which also included an extension was refused in 2008. Two other applications made in 2009 were withdrawn and refused.

The latest blueprints include four two-bedroom flats and three one-bedroom flats over three floors. There is a extension at the back of the first floor, new dormer windows, new rooflights and a communal entrance. A communal terrace would be shared by five of the residents, along with a private terrace and a private courtyard for the other two flats.

The application includes a statement from Blackburn Architects which reads: "Our client is dedicated to the retention and refurbishment of the existing building, which has enjoyed a prominent position within the local area for decades.

"Given the success of the previous application and the reasonings behind its approval, it is clear that the existing building should be converted into residential apartments.

"This new application has been produced to clearly demonstrate the high quality amenity for occupiers of the proposal, and therefore it submitted that this application is approved."

The 2019 application prompted five letters of objection about fears there would be added pressure on on-street parking and the loss of privacy for neighbours.

No comments have been made yet on the latest plans.

The former pub, which contained a bar, pool room and games room, closed in 2018.