A village is to have its first fish and chip shop in decades as it takes over what was once a pub.

Plans have been approved by Swale council for a takeaway in Newington High Street, near Sittingbourne.

It comes after chippies across Kent spoke out about their fears for the future when the cost of fish rocketed.

The new business will be open for trading from 8am to 10pm seven days a week, following an application submitted by resident Rosaria Rodrigues.

It will open in the building formerly home to lettings agency, Ashton Burkinshaw, which was once a pub.

Information on the application's planning statement describes the property as "an attractive two storey building, formally a public house, which fronts onto the High Street.

It adds: "The ground floor was formally converted into commercial use in 2011 but is now vacant.

"Only minor changes are proposed to the internal layout of the building.

"This includes changes to the front office to become the main customer service area, and the conversion of the existing back office to the main kitchen area.

"The car park provides a total of 23 car parking spaces - a total of 13 are retained for the use of subject premises."

A self-contained residential flat has been retained on the first floor.

The building is in the Newington Conservation Area, meaning a heritage statement detailing the significance of the development was needed before the application could be approved.

A café in the same high street, which closed in the summer, has now gone on the market.

The Albion, which stopped trading in June, had been in business for a little more than a year after opening in May 2022.

The village tea room seated more than 30 guests following a £40,000 investment. It sold cakes, scones and lunch-time meals.

When plans were first submitted for the chippy in May, many residents were keen for the proposal to be given the green light.

One person commented: “It‘s about time we had something like that. I would rather support a local chippy rather than travel to Sittingbourne to buy some fish and chips.”

Another added: “Having lived in Newington for 30 years, all I have ever heard people say is we could really do with a chip shop so this is actually quite exciting news!”

A third person said the proposal was “great” as “having a chippy will create jobs in the village.”