A parish council leader has called for a meeting to gather support to protect a village pub which has been closed for almost a year.
The Plume of Feathers in South Creake, near Fakenham, closed its doors in June last year and has previously come under fire for its current appearence, which residents described as looking like 'something from a war zone' and 'a disgrace'.
The meeting is being organised by the chairman of South Creake Parish Council Sara Freakley, where a petition will be launched to gather signatures to argue that it should become an asset of community value to protect it in the case of any future application for a change of use.
She said: 'We are having this meeting to establish that the village does want a pub and wants it listed as an asset of community value. If in the future there was an application for change of use, it makes it more difficult for that to happen.
'With the pub being like it is at the moment, it doesn't help the village really. It's just demoralising and doesn't create a good feeling in the village. The right person running it could make it work.
'I do think the demand is still there, obviously we will have to support it. The community would really value it.'
The Plume of Feathers is owned by Star Pubs & Bars, which is currently looking for a licensee to reopen it as a pub.
A spokesperson from Star Pubs & Bars said: 'We remain fully committed to reopening The Plume of Feathers, creating an outstanding pub serving great food and drink that the whole community can enjoy. 'We know with the backing of the community we can achieve this and as such we support their efforts to get the pub listed as an asset of community value because we believe it is.
'We are also keen to invest in the pub's future to ensure it remains sustainable long-term and have been running a recruitment campaign to find a licensee for The Plume of Feathers to work with us on a refurbishment.
'We are pleased to say we have had a number of enquiries, including some from the local community itself, which we are progressing.'
The open meeting will be held on Friday, April 12 at 7pm at South Creake Memorial Hall.
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