Work has begun to turn a former Chatham pub into flats after years of neglect and vandalism.

Last August, Medway Council approved plans to create 10 one-bedroom flats at the former Hen and Chicks pub in Luton High Street.

Contractors are now on site clearing out the building and scaffolding has been put up.

As part of the plans, the pub is being restored alongside the construction of a new roof and dormer windows.

The planning permission also includes a condition requiring the developer to install a replica of the pub’s original sign.

Once completed, future residents will have access to a landscaped communal garden and 12 cycle spaces, but no car parking will be provided.

Since its closure in 2019, the pub quickly became a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour with broken windows, fly-tipping and graffiti.

Firefighters were also called to a blaze in October 2024, which damaged the interior of the building.

The pub was originally built as a farmhouse in 1702, and was then converted into an ale house in 1746 to serve Luton’s many brickmakers and agricultural workers.