A pub on Newmarket Road that was gutted after a suspected arsonist attack in April plans to reopen after extensive remodelling.

The plans, which are expected to get the go-ahead by the council on Thursday, will retain both the building’s “quasi-classical” façade and the pub on the ground floor. However, the rest will be replaced with a larger structure that houses seven flats.

Despite the pub’s past problems and eventual closure in 2012, Cambridge City Council has safeguarded the Seven Stars as a pub site “providing an important local or community facility.” Last year, the council turned down a planning application to convert the building into five flats. It is hoped that the proposed plans, which look to keep the pub in place, will attract more customers thanks to the construction of a new Travelodge and upcoming Premier Inn on Newmarket Road.