CATERING at a village pub could soon get a boost in the form a new kitchen.

The Kings Arms, in Langton Matravers High Street, has applied for permission to build a new kitchen in the garden area.

Plans, submitted to Dorset Council on behalf of Kings Arms (Langton) Ltd, also detail plans to continue to offer a shop facility in a former coffee lounge at the pub.

“The Kings Arms does not have a kitchen suitable for commercial catering,” it said.

“This is the principal need for the business to thrive. Before the applicant’s ownership there was only a small kitchenette behind the former smoking room.

“Permission is requested to replace a temporary kitchen in a timber shed erected in the garden with a permanent kitchen attached to the rear of the building.”

The Kings Arms dates back to 1743 and has ‘continually adapted’ over its lifetime, the application said, being now ‘popular with tourists and visitors who come to explore the Jurassic coastline and countryside of the Isle of Purbeck’.

Part of the pub’s evolution, the plan details, was the creation of a shop on the premises.

“In 2021, the Post Office and general store closed in Langton Matravers after the owner retired,” it said.

“Following support and encouragement from the parish council, a community shop staffed by volunteers was opened in the former coffee lounge of the building.

“This application seeks to regularise and continue this activity. There is strong support in the village for the shop.”

To view the full plans, and to comment on the application, log on to www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and search for reference P/LBC/2023/02663.