Bapchild villagers want The Fox and Goose pub in The Street, near Sittingbourne, to reopen after apartment plans lodged

Additional reporting by Daniel Esson

A long-vacant pub should be reopened rather than turned into flats, say villagers.

The Fox and Goose on the A2 in Bapchild, near Sittingbourne, closed more than three years ago after its landlady stepped away.

Rebecca Barker, who had run the watering hole for eight years, left after the death of her father in 2022.

She also told KentOnline the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis had impacted trade and the pub was sold in 2023.

There was speculation the building, which has been a pub in some form since 1670, could be turned into a Sainsbury’s Local .

But now proposals have been submitted to convert it into eight apartments and 400 sq m of commercial space, with the addition of two extensions.

A two-storey extension on the side is planned, alo