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 Gle…
