A GROUP of residents have been given the chance to turn a Woodcroft eyesore into a thriving business.

The Rising Sun pub in the village has lain empty for six years and has seriously deteriorated over the course of time.

The building was bought by a developer after its closure but a planning application, submitted by the new owner, was refused by the Forest of Dean District Council while, at the same time, the building was registered as an Asset of Community Value by the authority under the Localism Act 2011.

A community group nominated the Rising Sun to be registered.

Since the planning refusal, the pub has continued to remain unoccupied, undeveloped and is considered a blight on neighbouring properties.

Now the council, after calls for action from the community and pledges of finances to bring the Rising Sun back to life, have given the go-ahead for it to be compulsory purchased so that a group called ‘Save Our Sun’, formed in 2013, can look at developing it.

Save Our Sun chairman committee Michelle Hayes said: “It is a brilliant result. It is a step forward. It is not a final thing because the compulsory purchase order has to go through, which could take between three and 12 months.

“I am thrilled because it has been five-and-a-half years of fighting. We have been getting together to buy community shares to get our pub back and make a difference for the people of the surrounding area.”

The idea is not just for the Rising Sun to be a pub but a community hub for the village.

Mrs Hayes said: “Eventually, we want it to be a place where people can meet, get some good food, somewhere to drink but

also to have a meeting place.

“For instance, we want to put on a senior coffee morning where volunteers can collect some people who do not get out and about so that they can meet each other.

“We would like to put a small shop in there, a parcel drop, have community

groups like mothers and toddlers coming in and services for tourism for climbers and walkers and somewhere that everyone goes to.”

Councillors at last week’s full authority meeting were wholeheartedly behind the project. Cllr Paul Hiatt said: “This is another fantastic example of a community group taking control over something which is in their community and making it better.”

Cllr Patrick Molyneux added: “This is another excellent initiative. This is very prominent on the road between Chepstow and Coleford and, indeed, the Forest of Dean.

“It has been in a pretty sad state for quite a while and I think the community have a pretty clear plan and, as long as there are no (financial) risks to the council, which there does not appear to be, they should be given every opportunity to make it a community asset.”

There is already a blueprint for the group to follow. A community pub at Dymock, which was in a similar position a few years ago, is thriving, the council meeting heard.

Cllr Jane Horne said of the Dymock project: “This is a real hub of the community. It is run by volunteers and they have learnt so much over the years and, I’m sure, if these people went and had a glass of beer with them, they might learn a lot more.”

Cllr Roger Yeates, who represents Dymock, said: “It is a brilliant little pub. We have so much tourism around Dymock that everyone goes there to eat at lunchtimes.

“We were in the same position (as Woodcroft) a few years ago and we got the community together. They all pledged money for it, they raised enough money and now, down the line, they have paid the mortgage off and it is a brilliant little asset.

“If this one goes as well as ours, it can be the hub of the village. I wish them all the very best.”