A pub with a chequered past is set to reopen after being boarded up for a year.

The Bull Inn at East Farleigh shut suddenly in November last year after being investigated over alleged animal welfare concerns.

The building in Station Hill, near Maidstone has sat unoccupied since while owners, Stonegate Group looked to find a new management to take over the reins having oegained legal possession of the pub last December.

Now Britain’s largest pub company has confirmed its search is over and it will look to reopen the boozer’s doors next month.

A spokesperson for the hospitality firm said: “The Bull Inn is currently closed.

“New management has now taken over the site, and after some uplifting internal works, the pub hopes to open as normal by the end of January.”

The confirmation comes as good news for the community who were previously worried the land would be earmarked for flats.

Although Stonegate had no intentions of selling the pub, members of the village and parish council set up a group in the hope of taking over the building.

East Farleigh Parish Council also applied for the building to be designated an Asset of Community Value (ACV) which would protect it from development.

The appointed head of the group, Duncan Spencer, had been working for months to get any information from the hospitality company but is excited for the re-opening.

He said: “We’ve been hounding them for months and they kept saying they’ll have someone coming soon.

“This time they said they would be open by a certain time so that’s encouraging.

“We don’t know much about the new fella but I hear he’s local being from Hunton and has had experience in the trade.

“He seems to have his head switched on too.”

Despite the news, Duncan explained the community group will still meet together and fundraise in case an unexpected development occurs.

The 67-year-old added: “We should be ready if this situation would arise again.

“Even if you have very rose-tinted glasses on the chance of it making money at the start is very unlikely.

“It’s an enormous hill to climb but we hope the new guy does well and, if he gets it right, we’ll support him.”