A doomed pub that was due to be demolished to make way for a new junction has been left to “decay” and should be reopened as “The White Elephant”, says a disgruntled councillor.

Rossa and Renee Kenny, the former landlords of The Wheatsheaf, which stands in a prominent position at the junction of Loose Road with Sutton Road, in Maidstone, kept its distinctive green and cream paintwork in immaculate condition.

But five years after the pub was sold to Kent County Council to make way for a junction improvement, the same cannot be said today.

The paintwork is peeling off, cracks have appeared in the plaster and one of the windows is broken and boarded over.

And it appears the pub’s closure seems to have been for nothing, as after several failed attempts KCC has yet to approve a design for the new junction.

Now the Loose and Linton ward councillor, Brian Clark, suggests KCC should reopen the hostelry, but this time call it The White Elephant.

Cllr Clark (Lib Dem) said: “The Wheatsheaf has been closed for over five years, but that is just the tip of the iceberg in this sad tale.

“It must have been over eight years ago that the previous owners contacted me to say they were facing problems selling.

“I learned that the landmark pub had generated much interest but speculation on KCC’s potential demolition plans to reconfigure the road layout ultimately drove buyers away.

“The Kennys were saddened by the prospect of selling their cherished pub, which right up to its closure was looking splendid in its recent paintwork.

“They were finally able to retire when KCC bought the property for an estimated £500k with a promise that its demolition could bring relief to our roads.

“Residents were torn, but many felt it would be a cost worth paying to receive a complete reconfiguration of the junction to relieve the misery on the Loose Road.

“The design that came forward initially included a ‘Wheatsheaf’ artwork piece and a park bench where residents could ‘rest’ at the former pub site.

“A place to potentially mourn the loss of a landmark while taking in the view of the stationary traffic perhaps, or to reflect on the fairness of KCC closing Cranborne Avenue when 73 of 96 respondents to the public consultation objected to the plan.

“Five-and-a-half years on from last orders, the Wheatsheaf's paintwork is decaying, the pub sitting in limbo and its once cared-for elevations are looking sad.

“In the foreground, the Loose Road has gone from congested to complete gridlock.”

A planning application to knock down the pub was submittted in March 2021 with demolition scheduled for July that year, but still nothing has happened.

When the junction scheme was first costed, the estimate was for £5.63 million. Since then, there has been rampant inflation.

Cllr Clark continued: “The money collected from developers at Langley Park, the largest of all recent development in South Maidstone affecting the Wheatsheaf junction, also sits in limbo, in KCC coffers, ravaged not by flaking paintwork but by inflation.

“It is time that KCC shelves any notion of a ‘do minimum’ plan at the site, to consider the majority who opposed the Cranborne Avenue closure and to spend the funds it has currently wasting away on an ambitious plan that will genuinely offset the crippling effect of housing in this part of the borough.

“Or,” suggested Cllr Clark, “KCC could reopen the pub with a new livery and rebrand it The White Elephant.”

KCC has not responded to a request for comment.