Celebrity baker Paul Hollywood and his wife Melissa have pumped more than £80,000 of their own money into trying to save her family’s Kent pub.

Mrs Hollywood told of the business’s struggles as she was supported by her TV star husband at an Ashford Borough Council (ABC) planning committee meeting this week.

The long-serving landlady of The Chequers Inn in Smarden, near Ashford, says her parents have spent even bigger sums trying to keep it afloat.

The Grade II-listed village pub has long been in the hands of Mrs Hollywood’s family - who now want to turn it into a house.

Her dad Glenn Spalding submitted plans earlier this year to convert the property into a single dwelling, sparking a huge outcry from locals.

The proposals had been recommended for approval - but on Wednesday evening, the planning committee voted to defer its decision in order for more information to be gathered.

Melissa Hollywood, the pub’s landlady for the last sixteen years, spoke at the meeting, with her Bake Off judge husband Paul - who she wed in September - supporting her in the packed public gallery.

She told councillors the business in The Street was no longer viable.

“The Chequers is dying on its feet, and local trade is not enough to support it,” said Mrs Hollywood.

“I have personally given over £40,000 of my personal savings, as has my husband the same and my parents considerably more.

“Mum and Dad are well past retirement age, and they both work seven days a week - still on no salary.

“Mum is in very poor health, which means she can no longer work and has been rushed to the hospital twice this year already.”

She said if the plans are approved, the character of The Chequers will remain unchanged.

“My parents are not trying to make money developing the site, just hopefully to make it more attractive to potential buyers and hopefully enjoy a few years of meaningful retirement themselves,” Mrs Hollywood added.

But Cllr Kayleigh Brunger-Randell (Con) argued that a possible recent decline in trade shouldn’t mean the historic pub should close.

She said: "The Chequers had been a viable local business for 596 years before the applicant began [trying to sell it] in 2020. There’s clearly enough local support for the business to continue if allowed to do so.”

Cllr Brunger-Randell says Smarden’s other pub, The Flying Horse, has complemented The Chequers for more than two centuries years but is not a suitable alternative.

“The Chequers is a major part of the local infrastructure, and with the new Local Plan coming through, we should be building further infrastructure, not destroying it,” she added.

Another solution is for the business to be bought and run by villagers, with the help of government grants.

While fundraising has not yet hit £825,000, the Smarden Community Pub group has offered this sum as a potential purchase price for The Chequers.

One member, Russ Phipps, 60, told the meeting: “I first moved to Smarden 47 years ago, and The Chequers has always been a vibrant part of the community.

“All the businesses in our village thrive on each other, and if one were to close forever, it would rip the heart out of our isolated community.

“The inn has been a real lifeline to many villagers going through difficult times and offers something completely different to the village. Please save our inn.”

A motion was tabled to refuse the application on the grounds that there are no viable alternative pubs and that The Chequers provided a valued economic boost to surrounding businesses.

However, the committee deferred its decision because no planning legislation supported this reasoning for rejecting the scheme.

Cllr Linda Harman (Ind) was convinced the other Smarden taverns could fill the trade gap if The Chequers was to close - and that more data was needed to prove the difference between establishments.

She said: “I walked the routes between the two pubs. It's straightforward, direct and takes less than two minutes through the churchyard.

“Residents are pointing out the difference between the lovely open space and big car park The Chequers Inn has, whereas, at the Flying Horse, you’re basically sitting on the road.

“There is a big difference in ambience but also a distinct similarity between the two pubs. I’d propose to defer to collate the information to prove the difference between the two establishments.”

As the ward councillor for Smarden, Cllr Brunger-Randell is now responsible for collecting data to provide evidence on the economic impact of The Chequers on the community and the difference between it and other village establishments.

The motion to defer passed with 11 votes for and one abstention.