RESIDENTS of a North Yorkshire village have complained after a 300-year-old pub owned by a multi-millionaire was put up for sale.

The Plough Inn, in Fadmoor, is owned by Peter Wilkinson, of Sleightholmedale, near Helmsley, and has been on the market for about a month.

The two-storey, stone pub has been advertised online for £495,000, including a freehold lease and all contents, four-bedroom living area, and adjoining land, totalling about 0.4 acres.

Mr Wilkinson was included in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, which claimed he had business interests worth £302 million, including an IT service provider, and some shooting interests at Bransdale, near the North York Moors National Park.

At a recent parish meeting in the village, several residents objected to the sale, specifically to the suggestion that, once sold, the pub could change use to a residence.

Parish clerk Jim Dye said he had written to the North York Moors National Park Authority, and asked that they do not agree to any plans to change the use of the pub. But a spokeswoman for the authority said it was unaware of any complaints or possible changes.

Nick Germani, who is handling the sale on behalf of estate agents Fleurets, said: “The Plough is up for sale as a public house, but potentially could be used for an alternative use, that’s for the buyers to decide.

“It’s very early days, but there has been some interest. The village attracts a lot of people, and there’s not much else like it at the moment.”

Mr Wilkinson said he had spent between £30,000 and £35,000 each year keeping The Plough open, and said he had moved its employees to the Royal Oak at Gillamoor, because the Fadmoor pub was no longer a viable business.

Last year, the village chapel was closed, and the residents currently share a parish church and school with nearby Gillamoor.