Team spirit is the order of the day for one pub in Limpley Stoke as residents and the village parish council join forces to make it a community asset.

Last week, the Limpley Stoke Parish Council made an application for the Hop Pole Inn to be listed as an Asset of Community Value, which takes four to six weeks to process.

If successful, it means that any attempt to sell the freehold for any purpose other than that of a pub must have a six-month period to allow for the community to put together a bid to compete for it.

The Hop Pole Inn is owned by the Wellington Pub Company, which is seeking new tenants after current ones Latona Leisure gave notice on the lease.

Simon Coombe, chairman of the parish council, said: “With pub closures across the country, people are anxious about losing a community resource. It is the heart of the village.”

A questionnaire was sent round the Limpley Stoke and Freshford about a number of assets in the community and 92 per cent wanted to protect, sustain and enhance the Hop Pole.

Mr Coombe said: “Using the 2011 Localism Act will give us certain powers should it come up for sale. It gives the village more control and broadens space should we need it.”

The parish council is in contact with the landlord expressing its concern for the 16th century pub.

Alan Booty, of Lower Stoke, has lived in the village since 1970 and said: “Limpley Stoke is on three levels and we don’t have a centre. The Hop Pole provides a centre. Our main concern is if the pub is sold for private development.”