DECISION day for the future of a much-loved pub in Wotton-under-Edge is quickly approaching with developers planning to knock it down and build homes in its place.

Woodbourne Homes’ plans to demolish The Full Moon in Mount Pleasant and erect 11 homes will go before Stroud District Council’s development control committee on Tuesday.

Many residents have spoken out about the blow the loss of their “community hub” would deliver to the Synwell area.

Terry Luker, of Wotton, said the The Full Moon had, prior to its closure in 2013, served the community, young and old, for more than 170 years.

He said: “Synwell is a very close community and the families have grown up together. Everyone knows each other. There is a mixture of people, young and old, who have used the Full Moon as a community hub and meeting point.

“In some cases it would have improved their quality of life, especially for the older people, on bingo nights, etc. These people probably never go out any more. Certainly they wouldn't walk down to Wotton and back, up the steep hill.

“The Full Moon has been the centre of the Synwell community for 170 years, providing its services to the public – even up to the day before it closed when there was a Christening party.”

As well as the loss of an important community establishment, many feel the plan for the site is overdeveloped. Wotton Town Council, who officially objected to the proposals, said the plans showed “too high a density of housing” and “a lack of amenity space”.

The town council added that they were “disappointed” with the lack of affordable housing.

In September last year the Gazette reported on the same Woodbourne Homes application. At the time it was deferred by the district council’s development control committee, a move that some campaigning for its rescue believed to be a “light at the end of the tunnel”.

A number of residents said at the time that they would like to see the pub, a registered asset of community value, reopened and back to its best.

However, with the district council’s planners recommending approval of the developer’s plans, the future of The Full Moon is uncertain at best.

The Full Moon closed in August 2013 after more than 150 years of serving the Synwell community.

At the time of its closure a number of local organisations and pub games teams still made frequent use of the establishment.

The battle to save the pub has been ongoing since the closure. Previous plans to develop homes on the site were halted by the campaigners.