Work has started on converting a long-empty building into a restaurant and event space after plans to turn it into a nightclub were scrapped.

Businessman Dominic Browne took over the former Downtown Diner in Park Street, Ashford, in a bid to give young people in Ashford “a nightlife they have never seen before”.

But the 22-year-old is now converting the three-storey building into a smokehouse restaurant serving barbecue food after his nightclub bid was blocked by Ashford Borough Council (ABC).

Mr Browne, who had tried to launch a nightspot at three different sites in the town, now hopes to open the former Po Thai restaurant and Downtown Diner unit in mid-September.

“I'm really excited to have it open and I’m looking forward to bringing a new restaurant venue to Ashford,” he said.

“After doing more research on the demographic in the area, there was more of a want from local people for a restaurant than a nightclub.

“And the industry is changing. It's such a big space that is able to have a restaurant and a bar feel without having to be a two-level nightclub, so that’s what we’re going for.

“It's going to have a very modern, industrial look inside with mood and ambient lighting.”

Mr Browne first submitted plans to open the nightclub in an empty unit in Elwick Place but later withdrew them after raising concerns over what it means for the Travelodge hotel above.

He then hoped to open in the former Tile Giant unit in Mace Lane but the bid was rejected by the landlord.

After submitting plans for a third time at the current venue in Park Street, ABC refused the bid, citing concerns over anti-social behaviour

in the area.

But Mr Browne has not let the setbacks scupper his plans and brought in contractors from KRWA Installations to start renovations in May.

Having sat empty for years, the building was in need of structural repairs and the layout inside has been redesigned.

When they first got the keys, operations manager Holly Millin said it was “echoey, old fashioned and very dated” inside.

She explained: “We have finished the rip-out stage and now we're going into furnishings and the fit-out of the kitchen.

“It's been a big job. The ground floor is going to be an 85-seat restaurant called DJB The Smokehouse with a takeaway area.

“Upstairs will be DJB The Venue which will be open until midnight.

“It will have special events, function hire, prosecco brunches, famous DJs, bands and community events.

“The restaurant will be for everyone, families, young people, older people, everyone is welcome.

“Upstairs, we will have different events that will target different people.

“So for example, on a Monday night, we might do a sit-down quiz, but on a Saturday night we might have a DJ event for those 18 to 25.”

Once up and running, the business will create 35 new jobs and will be open from 12pm to 12am seven days a week.

The building - which is close to Ashford’s Wetherspoon pub – was initially set to be converted into seven flats after proposals were put to ABC in June 2022.

But a decision on the scheme was never made due to an environmental issue at Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury which has been stalling housing developments across the county.

This delay to the project – submitted by applicant Oruc Gurkan – led to the empty restaurant going back on the market for £550,000 in August.

On Friday, Mr Browne’s plans for a sign on the front of the building were refused by ABC.

Planning officers said the illuminated sign would "not be a sympathetic" addition to the Ashford town centre conservation area.