A vacant high street boozer with permission to be converted into eight flats and a micropub has failed to sell at auction.

The Old House at Home in Sheerness town centre went under the hammer with Clive Emson on Tuesday (May 1).

However, the former watering hole - which sits on a corner plot fronting both the High Street and Millennium Way - received no bids.

It had a guide price of between £240,000 and £260,000.

Previously owned by Shepherd Neame, the pub shut its doors for the final time in 2020 and has remained empty since.

It had served pints for at least 150 years with the building dating back to the 1860s.

A proposal to redevelop the site into homes and a micropub was submitted to Swale council in 2021 by Mr M McAllister.

A statement backing the application said: “There has been a gradual decline in the number of pubs in Sheerness partly due to a shift in culture, the introduction of national chains such as Wetherspoon, and a move away from Sheerness’s association as a naval town.”

However, councillors had described the initial design as "boring" and "cheap" in May 2022.

Following this, a scheme with a more traditional appearance was put forward, which was approved unanimously by councillors in August of that year.

The property was sold that September for an unknown price, before being listed for sale on Rightmove last November.

Auctioneers had described the property as occupying "a good location close to the seafront, Sheerness-on-Sea mainline railway station, local amenities and schools.”

They insisted there was no specific reason as to why the pub didn't sell.

Speaking when the plans for the conversion were approved, the late Cllr Cameron Beart, who represented Queenborough and Halfway, said he was not convinced a micropub would ever open.

He predicted it was more likely to be used as a shop or something else.

His suggestion to add a condition that anything of historical interest found during the demolition work should not only be examined and recorded but also retained, rather than end up in a skip, was accepted.

Despite its Victorian history, the pub is not historically listed or in a conservation area.

Planning officers have stated, however, that “its long-standing contribution to the local community through the provision of a public house has resulted in the building having some historic value.

“However, the creation of a micropub on the ground floor of the new proposed building will help to ensure that the site retains a public house on the site, which will be of continued benefit to the wider locality.”

It is not yet known whether the pub will go under the hammer again.