A campaign to save a pub is gaining momentum with a £19,000 boost and an appearance before MPs.

And the residents of Holywell Green are not deterred by the owner of the Holy Well Inn having re-submitted a planning application to convert the pub into apartments.

John Walsh, part of the Save Holy Well Inn group, said: “We take everything it our stride, we always expected he would re-submit the application.

“We are trying to buy the pub and it’s about it being more than just a pub, it has to be a real hub of what happens in the community.

“We held 18 events last year and have 12 planned for this year — it’s not just about having a pub it’s about more than that.”

Chris Gale, who owns the pub, has resubmitted an application that has twice been rejected by Calderdale’s Planning Committee.

His planning statement says: “The aim in relation to this proposal is to provide a high quality scheme which will bring the site back to beneficial use.

“It will be noted that prior to the submission of this application and following the site being identified as a “community asset”, the community group have been given the statutory timescale to come forward to purchase the site. No offers have been made to date, as confirmed by the council’s officers.”

Mr Gale bought the site in June 2011 and the pub closed in January 2012, saying “there was not sufficient custom to justify continuing to trade and the public house was not economically viable.”

He sought consent for residential use but faced opposition from residents, who won the right to list the pub as an asset of community value.

The Save Holywell Inn group has recently been backed with a £19,750 feasibility grant from the Social Investment Business Group.

They described it as a “real boost to all the hard working, committed people who have given so much time and effort to this venture”.

The money will be used for marketing, expenses, architects and accountancy fees, legal assistance and valuation costs.

While John Walsh will next week address an all-Parliamentary group of MPs about the campaign and the listing as an asset of community value.

He said: “I’ll speak in the Central Hall at Westminster in a session chaired by Griff Rhys Jones about the importance of local
amenity and assets of community value.”

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