Residents have rallied together in a bid to save their local pub, close to Peterborough, from the threat of being redeveloped.

Residents in Greatford, which sits in between Stamford, Bourne and Markey Deeping, have launched a bid to safeguard the future of their local; the Hare and Hounds.

The pub itself is currently boarded up and has been vacant for a number of months, which has made many in the village fear that is it ripe for development even though such scheme has been brought forward.

In order to ensure that the future of the pub is safeguarded, a petition has been started with the aim of gaining support for an application to make the Hare and Hounds an Asset of Community Value.

An Asset of Community Value is a building or piece of land that is deemed to improve the social wellbeing and interests of the local community.

A listing would gives members of the community to organise a bid for the property if it ever came up for sale and would be a key factor in any future planning decisions.

Resident Ross Dykes said: “Our village pub has been part of Greatford’s history and community spirit for generations. It’s where people meet, friendships are made and memories are created.

“Sadly, the Hare and Hounds is currently closed and boarded up, and its future remains uncertain. There have been people interested in buying it to keep it as a pub, and I believe we should do everything we reasonably can to preserve that possibility.

"We don’t need to assume what the owners intend to do to recognise that this much-loved village asset deserves a future. The aim is simply to give the community the best possible chance of seeing it thrive again.

“If you want Greatford to have the chance of keeping its pub, please sign and share the petition. Every signature helps demonstrate how much it matters to our village.”

To sign the petition, visit www.change.org/p/save-our-village-pub-from-being-developed.