The owners of a historic town centre pub say a "new use must be found" after revealing plans to turn the site into a home.

The Swan in Tufton Street, Ashford, opened in 1874 but a question mark has hung over its future in recent years.

Now documents submitted by Kember Loudon Williams, on behalf of applicant Rectory Lane Ltd, say the pub has “experienced closure and loss making” leading to “a number of failed tenancies”.

In a bid to find a new use for the building, the owners say it would be beneficial for the venue, which they took over in 2017, to become a single home.

The restaurant and bar are currently on the bottom floor while the top two floors are residential.

But the aim of the new proposal – which has been submitted to Ashford Borough Council – is to extend the home so it covers all three levels.

Previously plans were put forward to convert the building into eight separate flats, but the application was put on hold because of issues with nutrient neutrality surrounding water pollution levels at the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, near Canterbury.

The owners feel changing it to a single home – as it was when the site was originally built in the 1860s – would be the best solution to avoid hold-ups.

They also feel it will make the area safer as “historic anti-social behaviour activities suggest the current use is a negative feature of the building”.

The planning statement says: “This site is brownfield and has a sporadic anti-social history together with periods of vacancy. A new long-term use would be beneficial.

“The effect of a residential use at ground floor would help to improve/enhance the character of this heritage asset by preventing the adverse effects of anti-social behaviour on the conservation crea.”

The building currently has three parking spaces which will remain unchanged under the new proposals.

Two doors down, a building that stood for more than 100 years was knocked down to make way for nine flats and four terraced houses which are currently being constructed.

The Christian Fellowship Church was demolished in 2019 after planning permission for the development was granted a year earlier.

It previously housed a Datsun showroom, a church and a pre-school.

Construction workers are still on site and it is not clear when the homes will be complete.