Locals unite in bid to save 170-year-old Gloucestershire pub
Residents speak to ITV West Country about the importance of the pub
People in Stroud are trying to save a 170-year-old pub from being turned into a house.The current owner of The Old Neighbourhood on Chalford Hill has put in a planning application for it to be transformed into a private home, following what it called "a change in customer behaviour".
The pub shut in September 2022 and residents are striving to get it open again.
The Chalford Hill Community Benefit Society has ramped up its campaign to buy the pub and run it as a community hub.
Speaking to ITV News West Country, Tim Woodfine from the society, said: "The Chalford parish has quite a big population and is larger than nearby populations such as Nailsworth that have several pubs and restaurants."
David Parrott has been an active member of the community for around sixty years.
He said: "The problem is it is the last remaining community place in the village. When I arrived in the 60s, there were six pubs, a full range of shops.
"Now none of that exists. People have to leave to go to work and that means the facilities die off. The village needs a place where communities can meet."
Kate Hutchinson, who lives next door to the pub, added: "It's hard to quantify what the pub meant to the community.
"It's a meeting place that kept us going through Covid. This was the shop, it was the hub, and we even had a little market that sprang up in the car park."
Emma and her daughter Tabitha live nearby and told ITV News West Country the pub holds special memories for them.
"I used to come up here and just pay in the garden and come up on a pony ride with my auntie. Because we were so regular, they'd even put a hitching post up for us. I met a lot of new friends and it was really fun," Tabitha said.
Her mum added: "It used to be a walk up to the park, play in the park and stop at the pub for some chips - very family friendly.
"A lot of the residents have worked here. Especially with it being so out of the way, there are not a lot of employment opportunities for young people. Both of my children had said they wanted to get a job there."
A change of use application was lodged with Stroud District Council in March 2024, with a planning statement detailing how the building was "deteriorating".
Property consultant Bruton Knowles has said that continuing to operate the building as a pub would be an unlikely outcome.
It said: “We acknowledge the concerns of local residents when it comes to the Old Neighbourhood Inn.
"However, the property's long-term viability as a business has been reviewed and considered unlikely in this current and difficult trading climate.
"As stated in the planning statement, seeing the building back in use as soon as possible would be a positive outcome.”