THE controversy surrounding a village pub near Bedale is set to be ignited again as its owner makes a renewed attempt to close the business.

Mark Wilson, who claims the Milbank Arms at Well has been dying for years and is no longer viable because villagers do not use it, is appealing against the refusal of planning permission to turn the pub into a house.

When he submitted his planning application last August, Mr Wilson faced a barrage of questions, and some personal criticism of the way in which he ran the pub, at a sometimes heated open meeting attended by villagers of all ages who urged him to think again.

Mr Wilson, who claimed then that he paid only £1 for the goodwill of the business, took over the Milbank Arms three years ago but closed it in April last year.

It re-opened in the evenings from Wednesday to Sunday after his change of use application was rejected last September by Hambleton planning officers using their delegated powers without reference to the development control committee.

They claimed Mr Wilson had not produced enough evidence to show that the pub was no longer viable and change of use would mean the loss of an important village amenity. The proposal had been opposed by the parish council.

Mr Wilson did not respond to a message left on his answering machine by the D&S Times on Wednesday, but he said in his appeal statement issued by Hambleton this week that, several times over the past three years, he had been denied rural rate relief on the basis that the pub was not a vital village amenity.

He pointed out that the pub had had several owners in the past 20 years and said his belief that it was not viable was supported by his accountant and bank manager.

He said landowners now employed fewer farm workers compared with 20 years ago, when a previous landlady claimed to have made a living out of the Milbank Arms, and villagers made no attempt to use the pub as a venue for meetings.

Mr Wilson runs the pub with his wife and his appeal statement concluded: "We now both have to work full-time to support a pub that costs us our combined incomes just to keep open.

"We will continue to fight the appeal process all the way, despite the cost, as we refuse to be ousted from what we now see as our home."

Villagers who said Well had already lost its school, shop and post office pointed out that the Prince of Wales had said a pub should be the hub of village life. Loss of the Milbank Arms would turn Well into a dormitory village.

A planning inspector will determine the appeal through written statements.

Coun David Webster, chairman of the parish council, said: "The parish council has discussed Mr Wilson's appeal and is sending a letter which basically refutes some of his remarks and reiterates that we are not in favour of the change of use.