Sign up to our free newsletter for the top North Wales stories sent straight to your e-mail Sign up now! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Campaigners fighting to save their village pub have called an emergency meeting after a planning application was lodged to convert it to residential use.

Locals fear that if granted the 19th Century Cross Foxes, in Garndolbenmaen, near Porthmadog, which closed in April when the owners retired could be lost to the community forever.

Objectors now want the meeting on Monday to plan a robust response to the application, which they say will be another death nail to village life.

Garndolbenmaen, which sits on the edge of Snowdonia National Park, has already lost its shop and post office and locals have had to travel as far as Caernarfon or Porthmadog for a social night out.

(Image: Daily Post Wales)

Carol Morris, 52, of the Friends of Garn group said: “We have called an emergency public meeting to discuss different objections to the change of use for the pub. Our pub has been shut for six months now and it really has taken the heart out of the community.

“We’ve already lost our shop and post office and there are a lot of people who have come to retire here because we had those amenities but now they’re gone people are very upset.”

Mrs Morris has petitioned the National Assembly to change the law on community assets in Wales so that the pub can’t be changed into anything other than for community use.

(Image: Robert Parry-Jones)

She added: “The ultimate aim is to buy the pub as a community asset, build up trade and then advertise for bilingual tenants. Something needs to be done to stop our rural communities dying. People need to know rural Wales is not for sale.”

Dolbenmaen county councilor, Stephen Churchman said he was unable to comment on the planning issue.

The public meeting will be held on Monday, December 4, in Garndolbenmaen village hall.

A previous version of this article suggested that planning permission had been submitted for the Cross Foxes pub to be turned into a holiday home. We would like to make clear that this is not the case and that the plans are for residential use only, and apologise for any inconvenience caused.