Controversial plans to turn part of an iconic gay pub into flats have been thrown out by councillors.

Pub chain owner Faucet Inns had sought to turn the upper floors of The Black Cap pub in Camden High Street, Camden Town, into three flats with roof terraces.

The 19th century pub has been a gay-friendly venue since 1965, before homosexuality was de-criminalised.

Camden councillors unanimously rejected planning permission for the proposals last Thursday at a planning committee meeting.

Before they ruled on the plans, longstanding Black Cap regular Terence Bevington said: “The Black Cap serves as a vital space for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and there is nowhere else in and beyond Camden that offers such a unique space.”

He added: “The character and soul of the community pub would be lost forever.”

Under the plans, the pub’s first-floor bar would have been replaced with flats, one of a string of bids to convert the upper floors since 2012.

The Black Cap, well-known for its cabaret acts and drag performances, is one of a handful of LGBT pubs left in north London.