GREATHAM residents clashed with developers this week in a battle to put a stop to plans to develop the villageÕs two pubs.

Residents and local councils said that a planned redevelopment would have no positive rewards for the village and that the only thing which would benefit would be the applicantÕs profits.

An inquiry got under way on Tuesday morning into four planning applications for the closed The Silver Birch Inn and The Queens.

Developers and the brewery which owns the pubs want permission to demolish The Silver Birch and replace it with either 16 or 14 new homes.

Linked to these plans are plans to build either two or four homes on half of the car park of The Queens.

In return for allowing these applications through, the applicants have promised to spend up to £175,000 to bring The Queens up to scratch and then reopen it for at least a year, after which its survival will depend on whether it is a commercial success.

However, residents remain unconvinced that the brewery Camparo Ltd genuinely wants The Queens to be a success and instead want The Silver Birch to be reopened and, if necessary, The Queens to be demolished.

East Hampshire District Council refused all four applications but the applicants appealed, giving independent inspector Isobel McCretton the final say.

Mrs McCretton told the three-day inquiry that the main issues she will be considering when making her decision is the effect the loss of the pub will have on Greatham and whether the proposed homes would have a detrimental impact on the character and appearance of the village.

Putting the case forward for the appellants, Martin Kingston told the inspector that there was no room for two pubs in the village and that the £324,000 repair bill for the Silver Birch was too steep to justify its renovation and reopening.

ÒThe QueensÕ scheme would mean that there should be an attractive and viable public house in the village,Ó he said.

ÒThere will also be an agreement that the public house should not be used for any other purpose than a public house for a period of five years.

ÒThis should satisfy local objections on this issue.Ó

Mr Kingston also said that the development on the car park of The Queens would still leave the pub viable as the number of parking spaces would still comply with county-wide standards.

Criticism that the number of homes proposed at The Silver Birch were inappropriate in Greatham were also refuted by Mr Kingston.

He said that the area of the village where the homes are proposed is classed as ÒurbanÓ for planning purposes and that the densities of proposed were in line with government guidelines and not as high as they could be.

While Mr Kingston tried to convince Mrs McCretton to overturn the refusals, EHDC, Greatham Parish Council and a large number of local residents made appearances at the inquiry in a bid to uphold the original decisions.

Resident of 45 years Dot Digby said: ÒThe village is too small to support two public houses but I believe that the majority of people in Greatham would agree to The Queens being demolished.Ó

Mrs Digby said that The Silver Birch has the facilities for a restaurant and accommodation making it a safer bet for success than The Queens which was not popular in the village when it was open.

ÒAs a community Greatham is struggling,Ó she continued. ÒIt has few amenities and it needs to keep those that it has.Ó

Residents Simon Meehan and Alan Bridgeman also added their weight to the arguments against the plans.

Mr Meehan argued that the plans to reopen The Queens was Ònot a serious offerÓ. He said that losing half a car park would harm the viability of the pub.

He also said that while the applicants were promising that the pub would not be used for any other purpose than a pub for five years, there were no guarantees that The Queens would remain open for five years.

Mr Bridgeman argued that both The Silver Birch and The Queens had been run down by the applicant and that the plans were drawn up, not to assist the village, but to Òmaximise site profitÓ.

He said that the agreements over The Queens Òguarantee absolutely nothing for the villageÓ.

The resident said that the village wanted to see a reopened and flourishing Silver Birch Inn instead of Òa stop gap pub in a reduced-size QueensÓ.

The parish council leant its weight to the inquiry expressing similar views which were also backed up by EHDCÕs planning manager Ian Ellis.

He argued that The Silver Birch had in the past been Òa multi-purpose public houseÓ and had the potential to be the same again providing job opportunities in the village.

Mr Ellis also argued that the pubÕs proximity to the countryside which is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty meant that the size and scale of the proposed homes on The Silver Birch Òis not appropriateÓ.

The inspector will announce her decision later this summer.