THE THREE-YEAR saga surrounding Lye Valley’s last remaining pub may finally be at an end after council officers recommended to approve plans to knock it down.

The Fairview Inn was first put up for sale in 2013 and residents rallied behind it in a failed community bid to save the pub.

Now, after owners lodged plans to turn it into a housing development Oxford City Council are poised to push plans through after officers gave it the thumbs up.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Lye Valley councillor Ben Lloyd-Shogbesan said he would be ‘saddened’ if the pub was lost altogether.

He said: “It has been an ongoing issue and I think it’s a difficult one for the local people especially to have lost a useful amenity in this area.

“I feel for the local people there. I would be disappointed if it gets the approval, it is a useful local amenity for local people.

“A lot of pubs are closing all across the country. It’s unfortunate that some pubs aren’t sustainable and that is what saddens me that they can’t continue to run as viable businesses.”

Fellow Lye Valley Councillor Pat Kennedy said: “It’s a difficult issue. People did try to make it an asset of community value.

“It is no longer going to be operating as a pub which means the only pub anywhere near in the ward is the Corner House.

“It is the changing times. I don’t think we are the only area where this is happening. I don’t know what the future plans are with the owners.”

The final fate of the pub will be decided at an East Area Planning committee meeting on November 2 from 6pm.

The former owners of the pub at Glebelands want to convert it into a 5-bed property.