FLINTSHIRE County Council has received a planning application to turn a vacant public house into a home.

The plans hope to transform the former Ye Olde Talbot Inn in Cymau into a house. containing a two-storey part extension.

Ye Olde Talbot Inn is now closed, but was previously in operation since the nineteenth century.

The site is located in the centre of Cymau on the junction of Cymau Lane and Bryn Yorkin Lane.

The previous owners, Hydes Brewery, have confirmed that the public house was first put on the market in May 2015 and marketed by Savills estate agency which attracted no interest and again in March 2017 with Fleurets, a leisure property specialist, which again attracted no interest.

A Design and Access statement submitted with the plans states that: '''Paul Mercer, of Hydes Brewery, has confirmed that the pub was not making a profit and was unviable as a business which is why it was put for sale.

''Whilst the former pub is not an ‘employment use’ there is no reasonable prospect that it will re-open and as such no reasonable prospect that future employment opportunities will exist on the site.''

The building dates from circa the 19th century but could possibly be older. It was originally two separate dwellings and later converted to a public house and Ordinance Survey maps dated 1872 indeed show it present as a public house.

According to the Institute of Economic Affairs, the UK has lost 21,000 pubs since 1980. Half of these closures have taken place since 2006 and analysts expect thousands more to close before the decade is out.