The future of a dilapidated village pub remains uncertain after a planning inspector ruled it cannot be turned into a house.

The decision is the latest twist in the long-running saga over The Chapter Arms at Chartham Hatch, near Canterbury, where successive applications for a variety of schemes - including housing and a new pub building - have failed.

The inn closed in 2017 after being deemed unviable, shortly before being acquired by developer Alistair Noel.

But any efforts to do anything but reopen the existing pub have been fiercely opposed by residents and the parish council.

The city council rejected the plan to fully convert the property into a four-bed house in 2021 on the grounds it would result in the loss of a community asset.

The authority also deemed the owner had not fully demonstrated the business could no longer be viable, and had failed to implement necessary measures to mitigate the impact of the development on Stodmarsh nature reserve, which has suffered pollution from waste water.

Mr Noel wanted to fully transform the building into a house.

He previously said: “The property is getting worse with every month that goes past.

“The plan is just to convert the old pub into a dwelling. The rest of the site will be landscaped and hopefully it’ll tidy up the entrance to the village.

“People will see a lively landscape there, and one would imagine they’d welcome that.”

But now a planning inspector has rejected the developer’s appeal, citing the failure of mitigating measures for the Stodmarsh, but they did not comment on the issue of the pub no longer being viable.

In another ruling, the inspector also agreed with the city council that there is insufficient evidence to prove the property has been fully used as a residential dwelling continuously for the past four years - dashing the owner’s hopes of gaining a ‘certificate of lawfulness’ for the change of use.

Mr Noel has previously said he finds it “incredulous” his plans are still being objected to, despite everything he has tried, including offering five years’ free rent to the tenant of the new pub to ensure its viability.

He says the building is increasingly becoming “a mess” and will never reopen as a pub.

Parish council chairman Tim Clark said he could not comment on the latest situation due to the upcoming local elections.

KentOnline made efforts to contact Mr Noel for comment on the planning inspector’s decision.