Work has started to clear up the remains of a fire-ravaged former pub, which collapsed into the street more than three years ago.

It comes after the owners of the grade-II listed building on the corner of Milton Road and Queen Street in Gravesend were served a legal notice to improve the site.

The former New Inn pub was destroyed in a fire in May 2022, which was believed to have started due to an electrical fault.

Initial works to sort the now derelict site were delayed as the owners of the building unsuccessfully applied to Historic England to delist it.

Gravesham council also made several attempts to work with the owners and ensure they took responsibility to clear and preserve the place in line with the law for listed buildings.

Its efforts were unsuccessful, and the local authority served them a Section 215 notice, which came into effect in July, requiring the owners to improve the condition of the site and secure it.

It required the owners to appoint an RICS-certified historic building professional to supervise all works, including assessing the building's structural integrity and materials.

This included identifying components and materials that could be salvaged and reused, and materials that could be responsibly disposed of.

The owners had until October to comply with the notice, and work has recently started to clear the area, which was more recently home to The CBD Specialist.

A skip has been placed next to the hoardings in Queen Street, and the corner pavement has been taped off.

Workers have also been spotted amongst the rubble, throwing materials into the skip.

For the past three years, there have been several calls to clear up the site as it continued to fall into disrepair following the blaze.

Speaking previously, singing teacher at Gifted Young Gravesham, Leanne Jones, said it looked like a “bomb has been dropped”.

Gravesham council’s cabinet member for planning and business development, Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox, also described the site as a “blight on the town centre” and said “enough is enough”.