Village losing Hart

James and Jean Sharp, owners of the Red Hart Inn at Llanfapley, which closed its doors just over a year ago, are asking Monmouthshire planners to grant permission for change of use.

The Sharps live in the property with their daughter and son-in-law, two grandchildren and Mrs Sharp's elderly mother. Mrs Sharp and her daughter Gillian are the licensees.

James Sharp said the family had no plans to alter the frontage or the setting of the Red Hart if they are allowed to change its use.

The Red Hart closed in October 2002, blaming a steady decline in trade since 1997.

If change of use is agreed, it will become the latest in a long list of public houses in Monmouthshire which have changed use during the past five years, including the Halfway House at Talycoed, Monmouth; the Kings Arms at Llanvetherine; and the Hostry Inn at Llantilio Crossenny.

Mr Sharp said: "If you are talking about a place the size of Usk and face an application for closure for the last pub, you could justify ref-usal on the grounds that there were enough residents to keep it open, but we are in a hamlet with 35 houses."

The Lands Tribunal red-uced the rateable value of the Red Hart in 1999 to just £500, from an original figure of £7,000.

There was a public outcry when the Red Hart closed and the Red Hart Supporters Club was formed.

Their chairman Geoff Burrows said: "The village of Llanfapley, together with residents of outlying areas, have now had more than 12 months' experience of what it is like to live with the 'Hart' ripped out of it. "The village is but a shadow of what it used to be.

"The Red Hart symbolises for this region the long-term cost to the community of a vital service. The Red Hart Supporters' Club promises to raise awareness of this issue in as wide a public arena as possible."

Monmouthshire County Council has received the application, which should take just under eight weeks to process, said head of planning George Ashworth.