A former Indian restaurant on the outskirts of Canterbury is to be pulled down and replaced with 10 homes.

The now-empty Spice Master site in Staines Hill previously housed the Westbere Butts Hotel, and later the Mortar and Pestle, before becoming a vandal hotspot during its derelict years.

Developers originally had their housing proposals snubbed by the city council amid fears the properties would be "cramped" together.

An appeal was lodged to the Planning Inspectorate in an attempt to overturn the result, yet the decision was upheld.

Determined get the regeneration of the site green lit, owners Rockhold Westbere Limited went back to the drawing board and submitted a fresh bid offering 10 homes instead 13.

And now they have been granted the go-ahead by the council.

The detached homes - comprised of four-bed and two-bed properties - will be accompanied by 22 parking spaces, a small park area and an allotment.

The former restaurant, which has a number of prominent chimneys, has stood in a state of great disrepair since 2017 when travellers set up camp on the 0.8-acre site for three weeks.

During that time it was repeatedly broken into and stripped of metal piping.

Applicants hope the "overdue" redevelopment will breathe new life into the area. The two-storey building - sited opposite the bus stop on Staines Hill and next to Perrys Vauxhall car dealership - is not listed.

Two miles away nearer to the heart of Canterbury, another former pub is earmarked to be turned into homes.

The Mill, formerly known as the Waterloo Tavern, in Sturry Road, closed its doors in 2019 - the same year a cannabis factory was uncovered at the premises.

Its new owners Marcoz Properties & Developments Ltd say the pub has such a poor reputation for crime that it would be "impossible" to restore it to a successful business.

Therefore they have submitted plans to convert the site into two flats.

Canterbury's pub protection officer Gillian Keay, from Campaign for Real Ale, has hit out at the plans and called for the boozer to remain intact.

"We share the deep national concern about the loss of public houses, with closures before lockdown taking place at the rate of 18 per week - this could get worse soon," she said.

"The Mill has been a thriving, orderly pub in the past and could be again with the right tenant."

The plans for The Mill remain in the hands of the city council to determine, while the way is now paved for Spice Master in Westbere to be flattened.

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