AN OKEHAMPTON resident?s wish to breathe life back into the Moorcroft Inn, which developers want to demolish and replace with housing, has been backed 100 per cent by campaigners trying to save their local.

Jan Hazell, who is currently manager at Aalen House Residential Home, has expressed a desire to take over the inn, which was closed last year and sold to housing company Sylvan Developments.

Claims by Sylvan that the once thriving business is no longer viable have been disputed by campaigners.

A third application, following two failed attempts, to build eight homes on the site of Moorcroft will be considered later this month by West Devon planners, but in the meantime Sylvan says it is looking into all the options, including selling the site or building a smaller pub.

Mrs Hazell said it would be a great shame if the pub was to go, because of all the new housing and business accommodation that was planned for the eastern part of the town.

Her aim would be to buy, renovate and run the pub with her friend Lorna Lamb and members of each of their families, rebuilding the B&B side of the business as well as the bar, with theme nights and facilities for conferences.

Mrs Hazell said its position just off the A30 was an ideal spot for coaches to stop and there was plenty of room to accommodate large vehicles.

?The place is going to waste really,? she said. ?There used to be so many functions at the Moorcroft, but over the years it has just been run down.

?With a bit of effort there is a huge amount of potential in it.?

Between the Hazell and Lamb families there is a wealth of experience of working in pubs and catering and Mrs Hazell said she was looking to gain a qualification to help her in her quest to join the licensing trade.

?The Moorcroft is the first pub you come to when entering Okehampton from the eastern end, so it?s in a prime position,? she added. ?It may not be in the town centre, but neither is Betty Cottles and that business has worked well.?

Dave Bird, who organised the Save the Moorcroft petition, said he was 100 per cent behind Mrs Hazell?s bid to buy the pub.

?It is about time somebody came forward to run this pub and Mrs Hazell is a highly respected member of the community and knows what she is doing,? he said.

?I hope Sylvan seriously considers her offer.?

Director of Sylvan Developments Tony Hopper said all offers would be welcomed and considered, but the company would be stupid to accept any less than they paid for the Moorcroft site.

He said the business had been running at a loss for years, despite attempts by several different people to make a go of it and this was in part due to the bypass being built.

This view was shared by the planning inspector looking onto the first appeal by Sylvans against a refusal of planning permission, but the appeal was lost on technical grounds.

The inspector considering the second appeal took a different view and thought the pub could be viable with 800 new houses planned for the eastern part of the town and an extension to the Exeter Road Industrial Estate.