A GROUP of residents in Alveston are campaigning to protect a popular pub in the village from being knocked down and replaced with houses.

Plans have been submitted to turn the pub and its car park into a gated community of four homes, along with a small private road.

Reacting to the plans, a campaign has been launched to see the pub preserved as an “Asset of Community Value”.

Alveston resident Dave Osborne, who started the campaign, said that an application had been submitted for South Gloucestershire Council to consider.

He said: “I was a regular user of the Cross Hands when it was going through problems with finding someone to take on a new lease.

“After it changed hands a few time, we were led to believe that the new company that had taken over the building was a publican and developer.

“We expected when it changed hands in September that it would be opened again, but they didn’t. They shut the doors and boarded it up.

“Everyone was left in the dark. Then in December they submitted the planning application which was unexpected and, we think, quite sneaky as no one who uses the pub seemed to have been told.”

Having made his objections to South Gloucestershire Council, Mr Osborne then put out the word to the community through a flyer, he has received the backing of around 80 fellow residents.

He added that the campaign also had a financial backer, who would be willing to take over the pub as a going concern and run it again.

As a “free house”, Mr Osborne said it would ideally mean costs would be lower as the owners of the pub would not be bound to any agreements or contracts to only purchase off a single supplier.

The proposed developer for the site, Hawkfield Homes and site’s current owners, property investment company Land Promotions Ltd, which share directors, were unavailable for comment.

An SGC spokesman said that decisions on both the planning and the ACV applications are expected to be made in early March.

Anyone interested in supporting the campaign are asked to email savethecrosshandsalveston@gmail.com.