Plans for a £1.5m refurbishment and change of name at the Riverside Inn in Bradford on Avon look set to go ahead after being approved by Wiltshire Council.

The pub, which has been empty for nearly a year, has been bought by the Draco Pub Company, part of Draco Group whose portfolio includes Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage.

It will be renamed Timbrell’s Yard, after the company discovered the painting with the same name by Samuel Spode depicting the car park area beside the pub, and the recently refurbished St Margaret’s Hall.

Draco Pub Company is currently selecting a contractor and it is hoped the refurbishwill be completed by the end of this year or early 2015.

The inn will have 14 en suite bedrooms, a bar, restaurant and function room. The kitchen will be run by Tom Blake, who was at River Cottage.