A PAIR of Grade II listed cottages are about to get a new lease of life.

Plans to refurbish and extend the homes in Old Road, Crayford, got the thumbs up from Bexley councillors and from English Heritage which put them on its “most at risk” list.

The cottages at 174 and 176 Old Road, next to the One Bell pub, date back to the 17th century. In the 1890s a third cottage at 172 was added.

In the 1980s, they were declared unfit for human habitation and were extensively damaged in a fire in 1995.

The owners erected scaffolding and a giant tarpaulin over the cottages to protect them from any further deterioration, while attempts were made to rescue them from demolition.

Developer SC Construction plans to demolish 172 and add a first floor extension to 174 to create three one-bedroom flats. At the back of the site there will be a new two-storey building containing another two flats.

Although there are some concerns about the design of the new building at the back of the cottages, English Heritage has backed the scheme, pending further talks.

Planner Sue Clarke said: “English Heritage is totally supportive of the scheme. In a different situation, it might have maintained a purist line, but in this case it has been more flexible.”