A historic pub dating back 150 years is set to become a home after owners were given the green light to turn it into a four-bedroom house.

The Swan in Tufton Street, Ashford opened in 1874 but after a turbulent few years, bosses announced they needed to find a new use for the building.

A planning application to convert the three-storey building was submitted to Ashford Borough Council in February and has now been approved.

The restaurant and bar are currently on the bottom floor while the top two floors are residential.

The new proposal means the home can now be extended so it covers all three levels as one property.

Documents submitted by Kember Loudon Williams, on behalf of applicant Rectory Lane Ltd, say the pub had “experienced closure and loss-making” leading to “a number of failed tenancies”.

The owners say it would be beneficial for the venue, which they took over in 2017, to become a single dwelling.

While plans were approved, concerns were raised over the amount of noise future residents might be exposed to as The Phoenix, soon to become The Players Bar, is directly opposite.

A planning condition means before work can start, owners must come up with a plan to protect the dwelling from noise which must be approved by the council.

The protection measures will then have to be in place before anyone can move in, along with at least one electric vehicle charging point.

There are currently four parking spaces on-site and a bicycle store, all of which will stay.

Previously plans were put forward to convert the building into eight separate flats, but the application was put on hold because of issues with nutrient neutrality surrounding water pollution levels at the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, near Canterbury.

The owners feel changing it to a single home – as it was when the site was originally built in the 1860s – would be the best solution to avoid hold-ups.

New owners have taken over The Phoenix and hope to turn the pub previously branded “dark and dingy” into a sports bar.

It was taken over by Chris Hall last year and he has brought in Smoking Drum Caribbean’s Kieran Mckenzie to run the kitchen.

Two doors down from The Swan, a building that stood for more than 100 years was knocked down to make way for nine flats and four terraced houses which are currently being constructed.

The Christian Fellowship Church was demolished in 2019 after planning permission for the development was granted a year earlier.

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It previously housed a Datsun showroom, a church and a pre-school.

Construction workers are still on site and it is not clear when the homes will be complete.