VILLAGERS are protesting plans to turn a historic rural pub once visited by preacher John Wesley into a home, claiming it has been deliberately run down.

The Star Inn at Llanfihangel Tor-y-Mynydd, Llansoy, was taken over by new tenants in 2022 but closed at the start of this year, with the owners now applying to turn the 15th Century premises into a house.

Set between Raglan and Llanishen, it has served locals for centuries, as well as the founder of Methodism in 1748, who described it as "a good though small inn".

More recently it has hosted the annual Mari Llwyd festival – the folk tradition of a hooded horse skull paraded on a pole for good luck.

And residents say their longstanding local, also known as The Star on the Hill, is a community asset that must not be converted.

The application for change of use to a four-bedroom home has been submitted to Monmouthshire Council by Leta Engineering of Croespenmaen near Oakdale.

A report on behalf of the plan claims the area doesn't have the "population base necessary to support a public house", while tenants have been "unsuccessful" in running it as "a viable business", and efforts to set up a community-based project had failed.

But villagers are objecting, one telling council planners it would be “a shocking loss”.

“This is a valuable community asset and should not be lost,” they say. "The Star Inn has been used by the residents of Llanfihangel Tor y Mynyndd for decades, as not only their local pub, but as their community hall.

"It benefits the wellbeing of residents socially and mentally and maintains that community spirit.

"The last landlords operating the Star made it clear they were intent on deliberately running the business into the ground.

"There is a large community action group trying to see if we can put forward a community buy out. It would be tragic for this application to even be considered."

While accepting it would have to be more than a pub to survive, another neighbour added: "We don't have a shop, a central hub or any other venue to hold local or community events such as wakes, carol services and harvest suppers."

Local events, clubs and associations, such as the classic car club, the Young Farmers, the Hunt, the darts and quiz teams were now having to meet outside the area, they said.

Another claimed: "This beautiful old pub... was well respected and frequented with people travelling from far and near”, but had been "destroyed... by repainting the outside hideously and simplifying the menu".

"This pub needs the right tenants to return it to the thriving business it once was.”

One claimed the pub had been "callously run down" to cash in on a conversion.

"It is the social centre of our dispersed community and there are no reasonable alternatives outside of Llanishen. Nothing from Raglan to Shirenewton to Usk," they said.

"No intention has been shown to genuinely market it as a going concern, with some of its contents even being sold...

"Swapping our pub for some housing (in the sticks) is simply hollowing out our community."

A resident who labelled it "a well loved and used pub", said it had "never struggled for business" previously.

And another objector said it would be "a great shame if this fine old pub ceased to serve the community".

"The Star has been an integral part of our community for decades and is missed," added yet another.

"There are plenty of examples of country pubs that are successful when run properly.

"This is a ploy by the owners to run the pub down and profiteer by change of use to residential at the expense of the community."

To see the application and comment go to Monmouthshire Council's planning portal and search for DM/2024/01036.