THE fight to save a Hereford pub from being turned into flats has gathered momentum after a petition bearing more than 200 signatures was handed to Herefordshire Council.

Despite officially closing its doors for good earlier this month, campaigners hope that the Nell Gwynne will can be saved.

The Hereford Times has previously reported how the venue’s owners declared the backstreet bar no longer financially viable and it could now be turned into flats.

Developers Perfection Homes want to build 15 apartments on the site and a planning application also includes offices as part of the proposed project.

Herefordshire CAMRA member Michael Hughes handed a petition to ward councillor, Mark Hubbard, last week.

He said: "The Nell Gwynne is well used in my experience and I don't think it deserves to just be closed down and converted into flats.

“I think if it is going to be sold it should at least be sold as a pub first. The fact is that the pub isn’t redundant which is what it is being described as.”

So far, 123 representations have been received in regard to the application on Herefordshire Council’s website, with many of those objections.

Another man hoping for a last minute reprieve is 41-year-old Stuart Daniels who has frequented the Nell Gwynne since he was “old enough to start drinking”.

Mr Daniels, from Much Birch, said: “It’s a traditional English pub, rather than the modern, themed open pub. It’s got loads of character”.

He believes the decision to transform the venue into flats is “disgusting”.

“There are lots of flats around there – they could’ve kept it open and developed the outhouse on the car park where the stable block used to be,” he said.

“There was no real need for them to convert it. Let’s face it, there’s only a few traditional pubs left in town now. It has been going for years. There’s lots of history going back.”

Responding to questions from the Hereford Times, Billy Reynolds, of owners Herefordshire Pubs Ltd, said the pub’s tenant had handed in his notice.

He added that the business was not looking for new tenants as there had now been two that could not make it work.