One of Felixstowe’s oldest pubs is to be converted into homes as part of a project to redevelop its site.

The Feathers in High Street, Walton closed last year and was later sold for around £225,000.

Roseberry Property Development Co Ltd has now been granted permission by Suffolk Coastal District Council to convert the grade-two listed timber-framed building – said to be Walton’s oldest pub and dating from the 16th Century – into two homes.

In addition, a pair of semi-detached houses and a pair of semi-detached cottages would be built on land at the rear.

Planning consultant Phil Cobbold, on behalf of Roseberry Property, said the pub had been marketed for two years. He said: “The two previous landlords were unable to maintain the public house as a viable enterprise.

“The lengthy marketing campaign has provided clear evidence that there is no interest in the property as a public house.”

Mr Cobbold said that while the pub still had its original 16th Century parts, it had been significantly altered and extended. The cottages, which will be visible from High Street, have been designed to look like Victorian cottages while the other pair of houses have been designed and sited to have the appearance of a converted outbuilding as the pub did have extensive outbuildings.

Felixstowe Town Council recommended approval and welcomed the innovative use of the site.