A PARISH council has said it will “not stand idly by” and see its last remaining village pub stand empty for long.

The Ye Olde Coach and Horses Inn was the final drinking establishment at Melton, near Woodbridge, following the closure of the Horse and Groom last year.

But last week the landlords of the Coach and Horses, a 17th Century coaching house in Melton Road, called time at the bar and closed the pub, leaving the town dry.

Geof Butterwick, head of planning for the parish council, said he and fellow members would be discussing the situation at their upcoming meeting tomorrow and would be looking to make contact with the pub’s owners to seek assurances about its future.

He said: “The Coach and Horses was boarded up and that basically leaves Melton with no pubs.

“We have absolutely no idea what’s going on at the Coach and Horses. In the end it [the closure] was rather quick.

“We are hopeful that the owner will look to get somebody in it who wants to run it, but the market isn’t very favourable at the moment.

“I don’t think we will stand idly by and lose another community facility.”

Mr Butterwick said the parish council had opposed the plans to turn the Horse and Groom, in Yarmouth Road, into homes – plans that were ultimately approved by Suffolk Coastal District Council.

He said the approval, confirmed in November, was based partly around the fact that the village had another operating pub – the Coach and Horses.

Mr Butterwick said the future of the pub had been a hot topic in recent times as rumours had been rife that it was on the brink of closure.

He added: “One or two of our recent meetings, people have said ‘Does anybody know what’s happening to the Coach and Horses?’ and we have been hearing rumours for many years – and this time the rumours turned out to be true.”

Last night there was no answer at the Coach and Horses.

elliot.furniss@eadt.co.uk