Plans refused to turn former pub into house

The applicant wanted to turn the Fox and Hounds Inn into a six-bedroom home

Plans to turn a Grade II listed former village pub into a house have been refused.

The Fox and Hounds Inn, in Great Wolford, Warwickshire, has been closed for the past eight years and owners had applied to turn it into a six-bedroom property.

A decision by the Stratford upon Avon District Council planning committee to refuse the proposals was met by cheers from members of the Save the Fox and Hounds campaign group.

The BBC has approached the agents for the owners.

Members of the campaign group described the meeting as a "rollercoaster"

A planning officer at Stratford-on-Avon District Council said that the pub could realistically continue to be run commercially and offers had been made for the site.

However, an independent viability study commissioned by the council last year concluded that the business was not viable.

"The pub goes back to the 17th Century, it was such a key facility in the village," campaigner James van Helden said.

A pop-up pub has been organised in Great Wolford on 30 August to celebrate the decision as "mightily relieved" residents meet up.