A former Michelin Guide restaurant that has sat empty for almost a decade is going to be given a “new lease of life”.

The once-acclaimed Age and Sons in Charlotte Court, Ramsgate, will be turned into a new restaurant and bar with a 60-seat performance space.

The Heritage Lab, a community interest company, is behind the project and hopes to see it open in spring next year.

CEO and founder Rob Kenyon wants to breathe new life into the building.

He told KentOnline: “It had been vacant for so long - it was just lying there doing nothing.

“So what we're trying to do as an organisation is to take either derelict or disused buildings that are not doing anything and then try to secure funding to turn them into something that would be more useful to support the community.”

Plans for the £550,000 project were submitted in October and approved last week.

Work is expected to start by early spring.

The ground floor will become the new restaurant with a community aspect, the basement will be a small performance space seating about 60 people and the upper floor will be a co-working space called Thrive Ramsgate.

Mr Kenyon, who set up The Heritage Lab in 2018, said: “It's in relatively good condition but requires structural attention and some improvement.

“We want to breathe new life into an old building.”

It was originally a Victorian wine warehouse called Page & Sons before later being used as a martial arts centre.

In 2009 it was converted into family-run restaurant Age and Son’s, serving seasonal British food and earning itself a spot on the coveted Michelin Guide.

It closed in 2014 and has remained empty ever since.

Mr Kenyon bought the property in October but first viewed it two and a half years ago.

The Heritage Lab will be running the workspace itself and will be bringing in tenants for the other areas - something it has had a lot of interest in.

Mr Kenyon added: “It will create many jobs and apprenticeships on-site and support the creative industries locally.

“We see that there are far too many derelict buildings around in Ramsgate and our purpose is to do something about that.

“All of us have had lots of experience doing interesting regeneration projects in the past, and we want to focus that into something positive that we can do for the local community.”

The plans could create between 15 and 25 new jobs on-site and support up to 75 creative jobs to stimulate further growth in the economy.

Mr Kenyon says the music and performance venue will be “intimate and small”, but it is hoped with weekly performances it will attract about 10,000 visits a year.