A village eyesore may be cleaned up with plans to replace a derelict pub.

The Kings Head in Badsell Road, Five Oak Green, near Paddock Wood, was once a popular destination for visitors to the Weald and particularly for hop-pickers during the season.

But the pub, which is believed to have first opened in 1823, has been closed since 2017.

The building has been left derelict for six years and has become structurally unsound, with the upper floor of what had been the main pub building being removed.

The site is currently protected by Heras fencing and tarpaulins.

Now a new owner, Sussex-based Gallup-Judd Property Ltd, has submitted a planning application to Tunbridge Wells council to demolish the remaining pub buildings and rebuild a terrace of three homes.

There would be access through to a car park at the rear, which would offer two parking spaces for each of the properties, plus an additional parking space for the neighbouring occupier of Kings Head Cottages.

Each of the three homes would have access to their own EV charging point.

The homes would comprise one two-bedroom property and two three-bedroom properties.

The three-bedroom homes would have an additional en-suite bathroom, and all would have an office/workspace in the roof and a small fenced rear garden.

The site lies just outside the Greenbelt and is not in a Conservation Area. However, it is within a Zone 3 flood risk area, meaning there is a “high probability of flooding.” The Alder Stream is close by.

For this reason, the floor levels will be raised above the flood risk level and the homes will have a floodable void underneath.

The property was last known to have flooded in 1960 and in 1968.

Details of the application can be seen here. Look for application number 23/02787

Five Oak Green is currently without a pub of its own, but there is hope. The only other pub in the village, The Queen’s Head, was sold at auction in May last year and is currently undergoing renovation and is expected to re-open as a pub, with residential accommodation above.

Capel Parish Council has had the building listed as a community asset, meaning that should it be put up for sale again, at least the village will have the chance to secure it for themselves.

The two nearest pubs which are currently open are The George and Dragon at Tudeley and The Dovecote Inn at Capel.