SUPPORTERS of the campaign to save The Queens pub in Selborne have received a significant boost to their efforts with the publication of a valuation of the site by London leisure property specialists Fleurets of just £498,260.

The valuation is said, by campaigners, to be “less than half of the ‘north of a million’ price tag being sought by the current owners”, making it far more affordable for anyone wishing to buy the property and restore it to use as a pub.

Commissioned by villager Andrew Gibson, on behalf of the Save the Queens community interest group following an appeal to the community that raised thousands of pounds for an independent valuation, the Fleurets report states: “We consider that should this property be marketed at a price in line with our opinion of market value it would attract reasonable interest from small local multiple operators, as well as private, high net worth individuals and property speculators.”

The news has been welcomed by the Save the Queens group whose chairman, Caroline Rye, said: “This valuation comes hot on the heels of many objections to the new planning application for the building of five new dwellings, including those raised by the Selborne Association, which has said ‘as a free house with rooms, The Queens could be both valuable and valued’.”

She continued: “The detailed 40-plus page valuation report states that Fleurets considers the original verbal guide price to be excessive and this vindicates the views of many of our supporters who consider that original asking price to be totally unrealistic, particularly given the state of the building, stripped of all operational equipment and the fact that several key elements, such as parking spaces, are now excluded from the sale.

“We have had tremendous support from local residents, many of whom have commented on the South Downs National Park Authority website that they wish to have the pub retained as a going concern.”

In its report, Fleurets states that, according to the Land Registry, The Queens was last sold in June 2015 by Punch Taverns to current owners 221 Limited for £800,000.

The pub, car parking, trade garden and access road, plus additional six parking spaces, but excluding the field to the rear of the property, has been valued by Fleurets at £498,260.

Mrs Rye continued: “The valuation, coupled with Selborne Parish Council’s new application for asset of community value status, provides cause for optimism. If granted, once a property is listed as an asset of community value it becomes subject to a moratorium period of up to six months, which is triggered should the owner of the property seek to sell. This period of time allows the local community group the opportunity to raise finance and make a bid to acquire the property.”

The Save The Queens group, which now has more than 100 members, raised £3,300 to fund the Fleurets’ valuation.

Mrs Rye said: “The actions of this group, the number of objections to the current planning application, the support of the Selborne Association and current asset of community value application all demonstrate beyond doubt that, contrary to the developer’s claim, there is strong, deeply-felt local support for the retention of The Queens as a pub.”