SAVE the Queens, a community interest group in Selborne, has a fight on its hands if it wants to retain the pub as a registered asset of community value.

Granted community value status by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) in February after a public consultation carried out by Selborne Parish Council found two thirds of respondents to be in favour of retaining the public house as a community asset, the status was then challenged by current owner Derek Warwick Developments (trading as 221 Holdings).

Despite its current appearance as “a disgraceful, boarded-up eyesore”, which is said to have been stripped of fixtures and fittings ready for development, members of the 87-strong Save the Queens group are determined not to allow the former 16th Century hostelry to be turned into housing.

But they have a battle royal on their hands. Having fought hard to obtain asset of community value status, Derek Warwick Developments registered an official challenge and a hearing took place at EHDC’s offices in Petersfield on April 25.

According to Save the Queens spokesman Caroline Rye, while a large percentage of the village believes The Queens should be retained for use by the community, the owners argued that this would not be a viable proposition and that it would not work.

In a letter to The Herald this week, ardent Save the Queens supporter Terry Cartwright believes that the proposed redevelopment of the hotel poses “a threat” to the historic heart of the village and one that Selborne residents do not intend to take lying down.

He said: “Save The Queens has been formed by a group of locals keen to restore the historic hostelry to the community hub it has been for over 300 years. This community interest group believes it is important to reopen the pub both for the village (it provides large spaces for family and group events) and for the 30,000 visitors that Selborne attracts annually to its walks and to the Gilbert White and Oates collections.”

He points out that to date four planning applications for various combinations of housing have been proposed for The Queens and have been objected to by the parish council and refused by the planning authority (EHDC).

And he added: “There has been a pub on the site since the time of Gilbert White, if not longer. Being a large pub, it has been central to the community over the years – providing a welcoming and affordable venue for entertainment and family gatherings such as weddings and parties that other facilities in Selborne cannot match.

“It seems inconceivable that The Queens could be lost when Selborne is trumpeted as a key historic village in the South Downs National Park.”

Campaigners are hoping for support from East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds who spent 18 years of his life working in the brewing and hotel industries and has gone on record as being supportive of community pubs.

As the village awaits the outcome of the asset of community value appeal hearing, expected as early as tomorrow (Friday), it is hoped, says Mr Cartwright, that Mr Hinds will continue to show “support for this crown jewel of his constituency”.

Whatever the outcome, Caroline Rye says the mandate given to the parish council by the community for pursuing The Queens as an asset of community value was so strong that “the fight will go on”.