A former town centre pub that has sat empty for the last nine years is set to be transformed into a block of flats.

Developers are moving forward with plans to transform the old Queen Victoria boozer – which dates back to 1864 – in Herne Bay into 11 one-bed homes.

Bosses from Kent County Council (KCC) say cash from their No Use Empty (NUE) fund has helped speed up the project, which has been in the pipeline since 2014.

A spokesman for the authority said: “Once complete, these modern open-plan one-bedroom apartments will feature a balance of avant-garde fittings with Victorian-era features.

“This pioneering eco-development will be one of the few all-electric powered residential developments in the country, with units available from May.”

The pub is believed to date back to the 19th century. Originally called the Victoria, its name was lengthened in the 1940s.

The building’s freehold was sold in the summer of 2013, following its closure.

Canterbury City Council gave the green light to a bid to convert the pub into an estate agency a year later, shortly after approving proposals to turn the space above the tavern into six homes.

Despite this, the site was mothballed until recently by its owner, Fatmax Properties Ltd.

The NUE project aims to reduce the number of homes that have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than six months.

KCC says the initiative has helped more than 7,200 properties return to use by using a number of measures, including short-term secured loans.

Council official Steve Grimshaw added: “There is real enthusiasm from those developers accessing the scheme to borrow short-term finance to bring those derelict sites into use for brand new homes.

“We carried out 60 schemes across the county in the last financial year and have just passed that figure.”

Fatmax is expected to lodge a further planning application to convert the old alehouse into homes.

This comes after KentOnline revealed last month that Rodney’s Sports Bar in North Street has also been earmarked for flats, having remained shut since the outbreak of Covid.

The site has been put forward for inclusion in the city council’s next Local Plan, which will act as its house-building blueprint until 2040, as bosses claim it is no longer viable to run as a tavern.