DRINKERS in Chipping Norton have been dealt a further blow after a plan was submitted to turn a pub into homes.

A bid has been made to convert the closed Bell Inn, in West Street, into two homes and build a further two new houses on the plot.

Three out of eight town pubs are closed, with the Albion Tavern and Off The Beaten Track also shut.

West Oxfordshire District Council last month gave permission for the Albion, in Burford Road, to be demolished and replaced by seven homes.

Patrick McHugh, one of the town’s district councillors, said: “I believe at one point there were 22 pubs in the Chipping Norton area.

“One of the things is that people are getting out of the pub habit, with so many government incentives given to supermarkets to sell cheaper alcohol.

“I think it is very sad to see so many close. It’s not their fault.

“They are just getting the rug pulled under them from all directions.”

In its planning application for the Bell, developer Giantflow said the past 10 to 15 years has seen “a dramatic shift” in social drinking trends.

It added that pubs have been hit by cheap supermarket booze, a ban on smoking in public places, tightening of drink drive legislation and a drop in income for the lower paid.

It also revealed that the Bell got through 157 barrels in 2003 but this fell to 67 in 2008.

Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounds the future of the Swan in Ascott-under-Wychwood after plans were submitted and then withdrawn to convert it into two houses. The pub would relocate to a small barn on the site.

The council received 63 letters objecting to the planning application for the Shipton Road pub.

But the plan was withdrawn before the council took a decision.

Owner Richard Lait told the council the pub was no longer economically viable and he wanted to convert it.