A FORMER pub in Bishop Sutton which was most recently an Indian restaurant could soon be turned into two houses — with seven more built on its car park and field.

The Butchers Arms building dates back to at least the mid-19th century and was the home of Indian restaurant Sutton Spice from 2011 to 2016. But it has sat empty for the eight years since the Indian closed down.

Now Mogford Prescott Ltd want to take the pub, the two barns behind it, the car park, and neighbouring field and deliver nine homes on the site. A statement submitted with a planning application to Bath and North East Somerset Council said: “The barns to the rear are in a dilapidated state and have been used as storage for some years. The restaurant building is in a better state but has had some low quality lean to’s added over time.

“It is proposed that these are removed and the original stone building revealed. The barns that are in a worse state are proposed to be demolished with materials being reused were possible.”

There will be “minimal alterations” inside the pub to turn it into two houses, which would both have new garden spaces out the back. A new wheelchair accessible house in a “modern barn aesthetic” will replace the current barns. Two more houses would be built set back on the field, with four facing the street.