Villagers are battling to stop a Grade II-listed pub run by Paul Hollywood's wife from being turned into a house.

The plans to convert The Chequers Inn in Smarden, near Ashford - revealed by KentOnline earlier this year - have sparked an outcry among locals.

But now a group of residents are raising money to buy the venue and run it themselves as a community pub - amid fears it could be “lost forever”.

The Chequers Inn has been in the hands of the Spalding family for many years - including long-serving landlady Melissa, who married celebrity baker Hollywood in September.

But the pub’s owner Glenn Spalding submitted plans in January to turn the historic site in The Street - which dates back to the 16th century - into a “single dwelling” home.

Ashford Borough Council is set to decide on the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday.

Almost 50 objections have been lodged against the plans. Meanwhile, 240 people responding to a survey have backed the Smarden Community Pub group’s ambitions for the site.

Russ Phipps, 60, one of the group’s seven members and a regular at The Chequers, told KentOnline: “The group came about when we realised we could lose our pub forever.

“It’s still early days, and we’re going through a process, but our prime objective is to save the pub.

“The village has experience doing this, as we’ve shown with the community shop.

“At least if it shuts or turns into a house, we can walk past with our heads held high and think we tried everything.”

Another tavern in a different Ashford village was saved via a community pub scheme. The George in Bethersden closed in 2020 but reopened in February 2023.

In recent years, Smarden has also seen successful fundraising campaigns to revamp its cricket pavilion and construct a new village store.

Another member of the Smarden Community Pub group, Chris Holder, 59, said: “There's a huge amount of work to do.

“There's no guarantee that we would raise enough money to purchase it, but we're quite a determined bunch of people. It might be a small village, but there is only one certainty: if we don't bother, then it won't happen.”

The Chequers Inn was listed on Rightmove for £999,995 in April last year, but efforts to offload the site have proved unsuccessful.

The application for conversion, which is recommended for approval by planning officers, states how the pub struggles to compete with nearby rivals The Flying Horse and The Bell, which are both owned by breweries.

It says: “With three public houses serving such a small community and with a changing approach to drinking in the 20th century, it was always going to be difficult for all three to survive.

“There is no obvious other commercial use for the building, so the decision was made to seek a residential use.

“Whilst the business has good Tripadvisor reviews, Smarden is not located in a prime position to capitalise on the tourist trade and the trade there is, is no longer adequate to maintain the business.”

The application adds that three local attractions drawing visitors - Headcorn Aerodrome, the Big Cat Sanctuary and Sissinghurst Castle - now have accommodation options closer to them.

It says the use of the pub’s guest rooms, which underpinned the business, has been “heavily undermined” and left The Chequers struggling.

As well as a bar, the timber-framed pub has a 37-cover restaurant with a pizza oven.

The site dates back more than 500 years and will require listed building consent for any alterations.

In April last year, it was reported by The Sun that Johnny Depp had his eye on the pub, which he was said to be a “huge fan” of.

However, the Spalding family branded the rumours “absolute rubbish”.

One famous face who has definitely taken an interest in The Chequers is Paul Hollywood, 57, who lives in Smarden and reportedly met Melissa at the pub four years ago.

Before lockdown in 2020, the Great British Bake Off star also judged a village baking event held at the venue to raise money for Smarden Parish Council.

According to a LinkedIn page for 39-year-old Melissa, she has been landlady of The Chequers for more than 16 years.