The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Gedney Dyke villagers will look to ask South Holland District Council to protect what they say is the last amenity in their village.
The Save The Chequers campaign has been launched after a planning application was submitted to turn the historic former pub on Main Street into homes.
The Chequers closed its doors on Christmas Eve last year bringing to an end what campaigners say is 225 years of public houses on the site.
A petition against the application has been set up and around 80 people attended a meeting on its future at the village hall on Sunday, March 8.
There it was decided to look to apply for The Chequers to be made a “community asset”.
South Holland District Council would then decide whether to add it to its List of Assets of Community Value.
For the five-year duration it is on the list it would be subjected to what is called the “Community Right to Bid” legislation that means the sale of the building would be paused for six months to allow a community to raise the funds to buy it themselves.
A similar proposal was made for the Jolly Crispin Public House in Lutton and “Save The Chequers” campaigners are to contact those behind that application.
One resident who wished to remain anonymous, said: “This is the one and only amenity left in the village, since the closure of the local shop and Post Office a couple of years ago.
“Local councils have been given a directive to build more houses, this is understandably essential but not in a village with no facilities or amenities. There isn’t even a bus service.
“This is the last straw for a lot of residents.”
As part of the application Robert Doughty Consultancy on behalf of the applicants states the pub has been on the market since 2015 and had been “effectively subsiding the operation of the pub from his own pocket”.
For more on the Save The Chequers campaign visit https://savethechequersgedneydyke.org
