Protest success for Dorset pub

A Dorset pub could be saved from closure following a bid to have it declared a building of local importance.

The 188-year-old Beehive in Lilliput near Poole has been the subject of a local campaign to save it after owner Eldridge Pope announced it planned to sell it for redevelopment.

Local residents showed their disapproval with a protest rally attended by nearly 200 people and a petition with over 2,000 signatures.

In view of the protests, planning officers are now recommending councillors include the pub on the list of locally important buildings to afford it slightly more protection.

The category is for non-listed buildings that play an important part in the heritage of Poole and though including the Beehive on it would not protect it from demolition, it would provide a stronger case for keeping the building.

The Mayor of Poole, Ron Parker, has campaigned vigorously to keep the pub. He said: "I do feel strongly that we must do what we can because this pub is an enormously popular local amenity.

"If it goes, lots of people, particularly the elderly, will end up either having to drive to pubs or losing their social life."