Pub chain J.D. Wetherspoon has been given the go-ahead to open in Deal, at the former Job Centre site in Queen Street.

The Watford-based firm aims to buy the building, invest about £1 mllion and employ about 40 people.

A Dover District Council committee has agreed to the company's application for a premises license, with a series of conditions.

Paul Lynch, landlord at the Hole in the Roof, said: "This is a sad day for Deal and for small businesses."

Other licensees from the Port Arms, the King's Head and New Inn, both in Deal town centre, also objected to Wetherspoon moving into Queen Street, claiming the pub would create problems on the narrow pavement outside and a rise in anti-social behaviour.

* For full story see the East Kent Mercury, December 8.