Traditional village pubs across North Yorkshire may close their doors for the final time - sparking fears that the heart will be torn out of rural communities.

The Half Moon Inn at Acklam and The Winning Post Inn at Alne are both set to shut to make way for housing, while the Alice Hawthorne at Wheldrake served its final pint last week.

Real ale campaigners Camra spoke today of their concern at the demise of the village pub.

Spokesman Geoff Henman said: "The accountants of this world are telling the breweries there is no future in tenancy pubs, so have managed pubs and make them large. This policy has a knock-on effect and it does bite in rural areas."

But villagers at Acklam, between Malton and Pocklington, are fighting back by launching a petition calling on Ryedale District Council to block plans to turn the Half Moon Inn into a private dwelling.

"We feel a village without a pub has no heart," said residents Elaine and Malcolm Jones. "This is an important meeting place for our small community."

Another resident, David Tindall, claimed: "It would be quite wrong to deprive the village of such an important facility that has been enjoyed by many previous generations for over 200 years."

Councillors are being recommended by Mike Moffoot, head of planning services, to refuse the application when they meet next Tuesday, because of concerns at the loss of the village's only social facility.

Landlord Peter Grenfell-Heap said he had been trying to sell the pub as a business for eight years, and customers appreciated his position.

Meanwhile, Henderson Holdings of Crayke, near Easingwold, has submitted plans to Hambleton District Council to demolish the Winning Post Inn at Alne, near Easingwold, and build houses.

Local district councillor Frank Wade said he was "very, very sorry" at the possible loss of the pub, but said he could see no planning reason why the scheme should not go ahead.

Winning Post Inn landlady Jan Sadler said she and her husband Mike had been trying to sell the pub as a going concern for some time, but there were problems "across the board" selling rural pubs due to changes over the last two decades.

Henderson Holdings owner Tim Henderson said he was looking to build "small village cottages" and said there was another pub, the Bluebell Inn, in the main village.

At Wheldrake, the Alice Hawthorne has served its last pint because the landlords are retiring, partly because landlady Dorothy Waddington has cancer. Her husband, William, said: "We've been running it for 18 years and wanted to retire. It's our home and we wanted to keep it that way, so it will not be sold on. Our regulars have accepted that."

see COMMENT 'Last orders for the pricey pubs'

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