A graffiti-hit Grade II-listed former pub is set to be revamped into a 12-bedroom hotel.

The former Eagle Inn in Ramsgate High Street has fallen into severe disrepair and suffered vandalism since its closure almost 20 years ago.

Previous plans to turn the pub into a hotel and then flats in 2016 never came to fruition, despite being approved.

New owners Williams Group UK stepped in to rejuvenate the town centre building after snapping up the property.

And Thanet District Council (TDC) approved the plans earlier this month as it would be “to the benefit of surrounding neighbours”.

Permission was granted in 2017 for the change of use of the building from a pub to a hotel.

A TDC planning officer’s report said: “This permission does not appear to have been fully implemented and the building has remained vacant for a number of years and subject to anti-social behaviour through its neglect.

“Bringing the building back into use as a hotel would allow it to be repaired and maintained in good order to the benefit of surrounding neighbours.

“Whether or not the hotel applies for an alcohol licence is not a planning consideration.

“However, the use of the property as a hotel is acceptable, and any noise and disturbance amounting to a statutory nuisance in the future would be addressed by the council's environmental health department.”

The building is Grade II-listed and sits within the Ramsgate Conservation Area.

It once had a magnificent model of an eagle over its entrance, which will be returned as part of the refurbishment.

The building suffered a fire in the early 1980s and some of the charred structural timbers remain.

But all of the original windows, finishes and roof structure were lost.

The plan for the building, which dates back to the 1770s, is to restore and turn it into a hotel with the erection of a two- and three-storey extension at the rear.

The applicants say they want to create a hotel with modern standards of bedroom space and en-suite facilities as well as ancillary spaces.

They added: “It is hoped that the benefits of re-instating one of the oldest pubs in Ramsgate into accommodation for tourists will outweigh the perceived harm of removing the rear structures that have largely been rebuilt in the late 1980s with little remaining fabric of historic importance.

“The proposed works are in keeping with the character of the building, are of high quality and enhance the dwelling.

“The current 20th century interventions detract from the listed building so efforts have been made to restore elements of the building.”

The building was largely rebuilt after a fire, reopening in 1986.

It is one of the oldest surviving pubs in Ramsgate, having originally been three small cottages in 1763.

A previous applicant had purchased the building and submitted plans to redevelop it into a hotel and then flats eight years ago.

As the plans never materialised the building fell into further disrepair and was used as a squat for a period of time.