Plans have been submitted to convert a historic pub in Cockfield into a family home after it was forced to close during the coronavirus lockdown.

East Anglian Daily Times: The former pub is in Great Green in Cockfield. Picture: GOOGLE MAPSThe former pub is in Great Green in Cockfield. Picture: GOOGLE MAPS (Image: Archant)

The Plough and Fleece, in Great Green, could be converted into the home after plans were submitted to Babergh District Council this week.

There is little information as to how the property would be developed, but it is understood that it would be changed into a single home.

The owners of the pub said it was no longer viable even before the Covid-19 pandemic, but that it was decided that the business would not reopen after lockdown.

The application said: “Even before Covid, the public house had been unviable for some time with the owners having to subsidise the business using their own savings to keep the pub running.

“Trade has declined steadily over the past few years as customer numbers have dwindled.”

The application also said that the impact of Covid on the hospitality business has been “crippling”.

It said: “The lockdown has been the last straw for many licenced premises which were already borderline in terms of their viability.

“Covid has resulted in many licenced premises being put up for sale. At the time of writing this statement there are 45 pubs in Suffolk on the market.

“It is a beleaguered industry which will not recover in the short term and which may never fully recover.”