A former Sheppey pub is to be given a new lease of life as a bed and breakfast and cafe in a £170,000 redevelopment.

Finishing touches to turn the Queen Phillippa into the two new businesses is still ongoing but it is planned to be open on Thursday, August 7.

The site in High Street, Queenborough, has been closed for more than a year and was purchased in January by Adam Ervin and Danny Pain for around £210,000.

It represents a new venture for the Bermondsey-based businessmen.

They turn one side of it into an 11 room B&B, with six double beds, four twins and one single, all of which are en suite, while the other will be a traditional cafe.

The outside will remain the same look and it will keep the pub’s name.

It has provided jobs for four local people so far which could grow higher in the future as the owners intend to step back from the business once it is up and running. Until then they will take it in turns working from the site.

The inside has been completely gutted and new plumbing, wiring, roofing and plastering installed.

The heat rating of the building has been improved so it is hoped money can be saved on electricity and gas.

Sash windows have been refurbished and replaced but kept as they looked originally.

Mr Ervin said: “We have got friends in this area and they have let us know that this place was up for sale.

“We felt that there were enough pubs in the area which were all to a high standard but we felt we were short of accommodation and cafeterias.

“[The building] had holes in the roof, it had damp, it had water rot so we have really done a good job to bring it back to standard and keep the character of it, which is important because it’s in a conservation area.”