MELTON: Developers are hoping to convert a former pub into homes after tabling an application with planning chiefs.

The Horse and Groom in Yarmouth Road, Melton, near Woodbridge, was sold earlier this year.

The local community had hoped whoever bought it would keep it as a pub.

However Suffolk Coastal District Council has now received a planning application from Woodbridge International Ltd to re-develop the site.

They want to convert the existing pub into two two-storey homes and also build a new two-storey property in the car park.

The consultation period is now under way and so far the district council has received one letter in favour and seven against.

The Grade II listed 18th Century building has been boarded up since December when it was put on the market by Punch Taverns.

Geof Butterwick, chairman of planning at Melton Parish Council, was spearheading the campaign to try and ensure the property was saved as a pub.

He said: “Neighbours have already expressed concern about the scale and impact of the proposed development.

“Since the ‘For Sale’ signs came down in March, I have been approached, on a confidential basis, by two individuals with a serious interest in purchasing, renovating and running the pub.

“I still feel that – given its location close to the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB and with the National Trust’s Sutton Hoo site – the commercial potential is there.”

Patrick Allen, of architects Patrick Allen Ltd in Kesgrave, near Ipswich, who is handling the application on behalf of Woodbridge International Ltd, said his client declined to comment on the plans.

n What do you think of these plans? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk