RESIDENTS in Tosside were celebrating this week after winning a bitter row to keep their village pub from being turned into a bed and breakfast operation.

More than 20 residents of the small village sent letters of objection to Ribble Valley planners, who met last Thursday to decide the fate of what residents called a "vital link to the community".

The long-running battle began when landlord John Robinson and his wife Gloria took over The Dog and Partridge pub in February last year.

According to Ribble Valley Borough Council's planning department, the pub was put up for sale in July but after a bad response Mr Robinson submitted plans to change it into a residential house and then a bed and breakfast establishment.

However, 39 angry residents, led by Joseph Drachenberg, who lives next door to the pub, signed a petition against the application, and claimed the business had not been given a fair chance.

At the meeting, Mr Drachenberg said he and other residents believed Mr Robinson had had a "hidden agenda" all along and had always planned to turn the pub into a house.

He claimed Mr Robinson had not made any effort to make the pub viable, and that facilities such as the function room had never been utilised.

Mr Drachenberg also claimed Mr Robinson had not capitalised on the increased tourist trade in the area resulting from new facilities such as the Gisburn cycle trails.

Finally, he stressed how the pub was a vital part of the community, used for social and community functions such as weddings which, if lost, would lead to a decline to the community of Tosside.

He told the meeting: "Out of all the letters of objection, eight of those are from people who have actually met in the pub, married and settled down. This shows it is not just a pub but the focal point of the community.

"It is not somewhere to just go for a drink, it is where deals are done and relationships are formed. It is a vital link to the community."

He added: "Is the loss of a community worth the price of one man's greed."

Mr Robinson defended his actions by saying he had been faced with no other option but to submit the application due to the harsh financial climate.

He said:"With the chequered history of the pub we were foolish enough to think we could make a difference.

"The local trade and local support were not enough to keep it going so we put the pub on the market.

"We should have closed last October but because of the pool and darts team we remained open."

Mr Robinson added that due to the little tourist trade and the decline in the brewery trade, he had no option but to close the pub.

He said: "The voices of local supporters are not being heard tonight, but I thank them in public. I hope whatever happens tonight we will be able to live peacefully in our own home."

Ribble Valley councillors voted unanimously that the village pub should remain, and many refused Mr Robinson's claims that there was no passing trade through the village to keep the pub alive.

"The pub was actually closed for food on Mothering Sunday, one of the busiest times for the catering trade," said Coun Dorothy Pearson.

"People in the past have not actually known when it would be open and if it hasn't been open for meals in the past why will the situation be any different when it is bed and breakfast?"

And Coun Alan Kay said: "The mountain bike trails are being well used in Gisburn Forest and promoting tourism in the Hodder and Ribble Valley, so it's right that we should allow this to carry on as a pub and refuse this application.

He added: "Summer is coming and this is the time when people will come out and it will give it a fair chance to prove whether it is successful or not."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.