The Plow Inn in Ripple, near Deal, was saved from closure after plans for six homes in the car park were refused.

A village’s only pub has been saved from closure after plans to build six homes on its car park were rejected.

The Plow Inn in Ripple, near Deal, announced it was closing in July in response to an application which would have seen its car park in Church Road moved and replaced with houses.

The plan was brought forward by Ripple Farm Ltd, the company that owns the car park which was originally built to service the pub.

After fears customers would be left with nowhere to park, owner Brian Davies handed in his notice and the owners put the 300-year-old pub on the market with a price tag of £550,000.

But later in July, Dover District Council (DDC) councilors voted unanimously against the housing proposals at a planning meeting and reasons included protecting the countryside and avoiding damage to the landscape and character of the area

Davies explained: “We put up our notice because of the planning application for the car park in front.

“At the time, I thought ‘I’ll end up with a pub with no parking’ if the plans went ahead, which everyone thought they would.

“Our next termination clause in our contract was in October, but we have to give three months’ notice to use that clause, so we had to give notice before the application was heard “.

When the plans were first announced, residents against the proposals feared the new builds would lead to “chaos” on narrow country roads.

But after the plans were rejected, Davies said he did everything he could to find a way to bring the pub back.

He said: “The person who owns the pub decided he was going to close and sell it, but then we withdrew our notice and persuaded him to serve the original two years left on our contract.

“So we’re open for at least two more years.

“We’ve had a really good reaction from the locals, they’re happy to know we’re staying.”

Although the future has been secured until 2026, Davies says he hopes the pub will be saved beyond that.

“There’s no reason why we can’t stay open after that as long as they don’t appeal against the planning because if they do, and it goes through, we’re locked in,” he added.

“We hope to be able to negotiate a new lease when the time comes in two years.”

The pub was listed as an asset of community value by DDC last year.

It means it cannot be redeveloped and the villagers had the opportunity to bid to raise the money to buy it.

Find out about the planning applications that affect you by visiting the Portal of Public Notices.

Ripple is the second smallest village in Kent, with just 154 properties, including thatched houses dating back centuries.

But the pub has proved so popular that some walk almost an hour across fields to get there.