WORK has started to convert an iconic pub that has been closed for nearly four years into flats.

Diggers were out in force to change The De Tabley Arms, near Ribchester, from a restaurant and pub into six flats.

Plans to convert the former pub into properties were approved by planning bosses at Ribble Valley Borough Council, in June last year.

Manchester insolvency firm Tomlinsons was appointed the administrator of the building’s owners, E W Properties, in 2007.

Specialist pub management company Daisy Chain Inns Ltd were brought in to ensure the pub continued trading but soon withdrew because it was not making a profit, and the building was placed on the market for £2.2million.

The most recent planning application was submitted by Mr P Ratcliffe, of Grassfloor Ltd, Ribchester.

The pub, which also includes a patch of land that used to be home to Ribchester Cricket Club, was built in the 19th century by the De Tabley family.

In 2005, plans to change the venue, near the banks of the River Ribble, into a holiday centre were given the go-ahead.

But the proposals for 30 new guest bedrooms, along with 206 parking spaces and a function suite, were shelved.