An appeal against a refusal to turn a derelict pub into a pizza takeaway joint will be heard by planning inspectors for a second time.

Plans to repurpose the George and Dragon, a former Victorian coaching inn which has sat on the corner of London Road and Swanscombe High Street since 1891, first surfaced in 2019.

Its taps ran dry in August the same year after owners Bob and Bron Veal, who had purchased the boozer nearly a decade prior and had successfully overhauled its image, decided to retire.

An initial application was submitted by Zaan Ltd, which currently runs a franchise chain of Domino's Pizza in London Road, Gillingham but it was refused in 2020 by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC). An appeal against the decision was then turned down by the Planning Inspectorate, the government’s planning arm.

Revised plans were resubmitted by the same company again in March of this year.

These proposals would have seen the takeaway open between 10.30am and midnight and include limited seating at the front of the store and eight parking spaces at the back of the premises.

According to details of a marketing exercise, conducted on behalf of the applicants as part of the proposals, several businesses expressed an interest in leasing the facility, including from a church, gymnastics centre, a lounge bar, and a shisha bar.

However, the application was again refused by EDC in August as it would deemed to result in the “loss of a community facility for non-community purposes”.

“The applicant has provided insufficient evidence that they have fully explored opportunities to retain the community facility with operators/service providers and the local community,” the refusal letter said.

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An appeal has since been made to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government via the Planning Inspectorate for a second time.

Previous plans were for a Domino's but it has not been confirmed if the franchise is part of the new proposal.

The latest plans were met with a number of objections from neighbours earlier this year with one saying: “There is already a strain on Swanscombe with extra traffic because of the Galley Hill Road closure.

“We do not need another fast food premises...”

“Also how many takeaways does Swanscombe need? This will just lead to extra vehicles crowding up an already struggling road infrastructure.”

Prior to the refusal, another person said: “We do not need another fast food premises.

“The London road has subsided and this will cause even more traffic entering Swanscombe. There is also a lack of parking facilities and the delivery lorry will be right on the corner, causing a hazard.”

Another neighbour added: “This is the third time I have objected to this and I know a lot of people in the area are the same.

“We do not and never want a pizza place.”

The historic building, which has now sat empty for five years, is at the edge of the site of the Galley Hill Road cliff collapse last April.

The stretch of road between the High Street and Ebbsfleet Football Club’s Kufflink stadium has now been closed for a year forcing traffic onto unsuitable residential roads through Swanscombe and Greenhithe.