A developer looking to convert a historic pub into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) says planning red tape means the building is rotting away and costing him thousands.

Medway Council is taking a the government Planning Inspector who allowed plans to redevelop the long-empty Lord Duncan pub in Chatham to court after officers rejected the plans.

The former boozer in New Road has been vacant since 1974 and is Grade-II listed.

James Mills, who runs Maidstone-based CKE Homes Ltd, purchased the property in March 2020 with a view to turning it into a 10-bed HMO with two kitchens and a laundry room.

Permission was initially refused by the council in April 2021.

Officers believed internal and external alterations had already been made without planning consent, however, according to a report presented to the authority's planning committee, Mr Mills told them he found it had been stripped of all internal finishes upon purchase.

The council's planning department concluded the internal alterations would be "unsympathetic and unnecessarily harmful to the significance of the listed building".

The authority had also issued an enforcement notice. The planning permission refusal was overturned by a planning inspector.

The council then sought a judicial review to challenge their decision, which is due to happen in December.

A judicial review happens when the lawfulness of a public authority is challenged.

Permission was granted by the inspector in November which gives Mr Mills until May 2023 to complete the work before planning permission runs out.

But doing any work in the meantime could prove costly in the long run, as Mr Mills explained.

He said: "We can't do any work on the property really because if we did and it was overturned, it's all got to be ripped out and put to how it was originally.

"My biggest concern is how much Medway Council is paying of taxpayers' money on it.

"Since the first planning application I've spent over £90,000.

"My issue is that if I win, I still don't get any costs back and if I lose, I have to pay Medway Council.

Listed Building Enforcement Notices allow councils to compel a developer to bring the building to its former state.

Mr Mills explained how he is running out of time to do the work, most of which would have to take place over the warmer months.

He added: "I haven't had a delay on it, the clock is still running. The hearing will be December 6, we won't get an answer on the day we are probably looking at February time.

"I then have four months for complete refurbishment, including structural works, re-tiling the roof, re-cladding the building, rebuilding the rear wall, everything.

"I have got to do all of that in four months which is impossible. Their concern was there was too much structural work changing what was inside the listed building and the format of it.

"They are basically forcing me to not do any work. They are not allowing me to start a single piece of work. Every time it rains, the roof takes in water.

"The building gets more and more rotten every time it rains and takes in water.

"It's a little bit embarrassing for me because everyone that knows me, knows that when I buy something, it happens immediately.

"If I was allowed to work on this, it would have been decorated now and people could move in in two weeks time.

"By the time anything could happen, I would imagine it will be this time next year."

"The building gets more and more rotten every time it rains and takes in water."

Medway Council said it was unable to comment further as the case was pending.

It is believed to have been built during the late 1700s and was named after Admiral Duncan of the Royal Navy.

He led a force which defeated the Dutch fleet off Camperdown and Egmont in 1795.