RESIDENTS in Woodcroft are celebrating after their village pub was finally saved once and for all from conversion into flats last Thursday (18th October).

The deteriorated Rising Sun pub in Woodcroft has been empty for six years, but last week the planning committee at the Forest of Dean District Council took six seconds to unanimously approve a compulsory purchase order on the property.

Committee members of Save Our Sun, (SOS) Neil Bedford, Gerald Archer, Steve Hebborn, Geraldine Weir and Lynne Fletcher, as pictured on Front Page, were joined by pub supporters to celebrate the success of the campaign at the weekend.

The Woodcroft pub near Tutshill was described as “eyesore in the local community” in a lengthly report presented to councillors.

The property was bought by developers when first sold off, and despite assurance to locals that it would remain as a pub, permission was soon sought to turn the property into flats.

This was rejected two years ago as residents campaigned for a community asset order to protect the building, but the owners have reportedly refused to sell since then.

This latest compulsory purchase order is thought to be followed by plans to sell the property to SOS. The group has so far raised £235,000 towards to purchase of the building; despite having the property individually valued at £150,000 and making two offers of 10 and 20 per cent above this, the building’s owners were apparently asking for around £300,000.

SOS members plan to refurbish the property, rejuvenate the kitchen and the dining area, move the bar, and repair the beer garden. Plans are to employ a manager to run the establishment, which as well as serving food and drinks, will serve as a community facility for groups, meetings, cyclists and walkers.

The authority believes that if they don’t buy the pub, “the greater the potential for acts of anti-social behaviour to occur there”. The report continued: ““The building has lain empty for so long that its condition has deteriorated very markedly and its overall appearance is that of a dilapidated building which detracts visually from the rest of the village.

“Additionally, based on similar experiences of empty properties elsewhere in the district there is a concern that squatters may gain access to the Building and its current unsecured ruinous state is a genuine risk to occupiers of adjoining properties and the wider public whilst also being an eyesore in the local community.”

It is expected that the legal costs to buying the pub would stack up to as much as £10,000.