A community group has promised to keep going in its efforts to save a village pub despite a public letter from the owners last week stating that they no longer wished to sell the pub to the community.

It is after the owners of the Prince of Wales pub in Newtown St Martin posted a statement on the pub Facebook page to say it had withdrawn from the sales process and was taking the property off the market, claiming the "approach of the committee from the start has been extremely and unnecessarily adversarial" and had led to "hurtful" and "untrue" comments.

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The owners currently have a series of planning applications submitted to Cornwall Council, to build bungalows in the pub car park, and for a change of use and listed building application to make the pub a dwelling - something described by the committee as a "crucial stage in the story."

Cornwall Council has yet to make a decision on the applications.

Viki Carpenter, chair of the Friends of Newtown St Martin Pub group, said: “Should this be denied, we have been told by our expert advisors at The Plunkett Foundation, which supports groups like ours, that our best chance is actually to go out and raise the funds.

“If we do this, then it will place us in the best possible position for future planning appeals and also, if the owners then find themselves with no other options but to keep it as an empty pub on which they must pay the upkeep and rates, or to sell to the community, they may reconsider their position.

“It’s unfortunate that the planning process can cause disharmony but the committee have never made any statements they believed to be untrue or that were hurtful and have made every possible effort to be conciliatory in their approach.

"Sadly, cases like this are being repeated all around the UK. We’re determined to stay positive and focused and do everything we can to save our pub because we all passionately believe that this could be a vital community pub that really helps the area to recover after the impact of Covid and the isolation and economic hardships that has caused.

“Our efforts have the strong support of our MP Derek Thomas, our councillor Guy Foreman and our local parish council.”