Over recent years, families living in the Wye Valley have lost The Gockett Inn at Lydart, The Glentrothy at Mitchel Troy, The Trekkers at The Narth and The Village Green at Trellech. During that time, The Bush Inn at Penallt has remained the centre of village life. New Year celebrations, St Valentine's Day parties, Easter celebrations, Morris Dancing, Halloween celebrations, summer barbecues, bonfire night parties and carol singing at Xmas - all have been based at the village pub.

Now, to the dismay of local people, planners are being asked to back the closure of The Bush and to allow it to be turned into residential accommodation.The move has brought fierce local objections and The Beacon has been asked to publish details of the many letters opposing the move.

FOR as long as anyone can remember, ;The Bush Inn at Penallt has been at the heart of the local community.

All types of events, from weddings and funerals, to sporting occasions and village fayres, have been based on the local pub.

Now, angry villagers have mounted a campaign to prevent the closure of The Bush, which the current owners wish to turn into residential accommodation.

Already, over 100 letters of objection have been sent to Monmouthshire county planners, with the likelihood of even more following.

They all contain the same message: "Leave our local alone".

Mr Jamie Ashton wrote to planners: "I have been a customer of The Bush for over twenty years and I have fond memories of the thriving village pub that it was, and so easily could be again.

"Instead of trying to deprive Penallt of a valuable, and viable business, the landlord would do well to reconsider and go back to the drawing board".

Shani Rigby wrote: "The pub is the focal point of the village, as people gather regularly for meetings and events. There is no shop, post office or garage, so if the village was to lose The Bush pub then the area would lose its village feel".

County planners have received an application by Mr Anthony McGorrigan for the change of use of The Bush Inn from public house to residential.

"The loss of our village pub would be the last nail in the coffin" said Ruth Massey, who said she recalled the loss of the post office, shop, garage and school.

"I feel very sad that the pub I knew has changed so much" commented Tadger Rowell.

Mr Martin Seymour pointed out that he had lived in the area for 27 years and had ben community councillor and chairman of the village hall.

"The opposition to this change is very strong" he said. "The Bush provides a community facility, enables tourism and access to this area of outstanding natural beauty".

He said four of the six pubs in the area had closed in the past five years, while Mr J.T.Atkinson said The Bush had been a successful business throughout his forty years, with proud and partisan local support.

Abigail Moriarty said she grew up in Penallt and worked as a waitress at The Bush. "We were always busy at weekends, with tourists enjoying the Wye Valley".

She said she had returned to the area a year ago and stayed at The Bush. "The atmosphere was totally different, the pub was deserted and we were the only customers".

Jo Haffenden, who is one of the leaders of the fight to keep The Bush open, commented "Even when we come through the current economic downturn, the pub will remain closed and never re-open, a devasting blow to our community".

Penallt Tennis Club, through its chairman, Rosemary Adams, has also lodged an objection to the proposed closure.

She said the club comprised 140 family and individual members and had five teams operating in the league.

She said the club used The Bush for more than 20 years, but this had ceased since 2004, following the change of ownership.

For more on this story .. see The Monmouthshire Beacon issue dated 14th January.