Objectors are lining up to fight for a dining pub under threat of demolition in the village of Longham.

Plans have been submitted to Dorset Council for redevelopment of the site of the Kings Arms on Ringwood Road with 10 homes.

The application has been submitted by Will Hitch of development company Fortitudo following the sale and closure last summer of the pub which has been managed by Rod and Janette Lamont for more than 10 years and was the Dorset Dining Pub of the Year in 2019.

Former ward councillor Mandy Willis said: “It’s believed to have been in existence for at least 200 years and we might have expected a heritage statement to be submitted with the application and information on the viability of the pub.” There is no reference in the design and access statement to the history or former use of the premises which is described only as a ‘dwelling’, and Mrs Willis said mature ash and elm trees referred to in the biodiversity reports and recommended for retention had been felled just before Christmas.

The character of the surrounding area, with Dudsbury Golf Course to the east and Longham Lakes to the west, is described as ‘primarily residential, comprising detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses’ and the proposal is considered to represent ‘an appropriate form of development that is consistent with the urban grain of the area.’

Nearly 70 representations had been received by Dorset Council within days of the application P/FUL/2021/05626 being publicised on its website with a closing date for comments of January 28.

by Nicci Brown