THIRSTY punters will set up their own pop-up pub as they seek to ramp up support to reopen their sorely-missed local.

Campaigners wishing to save the Somerset pub in Marston will again converge on the Scout hut opposite the beleaguered boozer in Marston Ferry Road today.

Running from 3pm until 7.30pm, the event aims to show the level of support among residents for reopening the pub for the whole community.

A similar event in April saw dozens of people spill out into the street, which organisers said showed the strength of feeling among those wanting the pub to return.

Oxford Mail:

It comes as the future of the site is still in doubt, with plans to turn it into an Islamic cultural centre apparently off the table for now.

Co-organiser and Marston resident Wendy Twist said: “It is all about keeping up the momentum and putting pressure on the owner.

“We are feeling really confident that we will get our pub back.

“Last time it was amazing to see so many people and we really need everyone to support us like that again.”

RECAP: Plans unveiled to turn pub into Muslim education centre 

Oxford Mail: Artist's impression of what Somerset House could look like as a cafe and education centre. Picture supplied by The Wilaya Trust.

Plans were unveiled by the Wilaya Trust earlier this year, outlining how the building would be turned into an Islamic cultural centre. This is still the intended aim, according to the trust’s website, but there has been no apparent progress on the plan since March.

ALSO READ: Muslim trust says new education centre and cafe 'will be for everyone'

Another member of the Save our Somerset group, Susannah Wilson, said: “What we understand from talking to the estate agent who is marketing the pub is that the owner has decided to advertise it as a pub.

“This would mean that the trust’s plan is not feasible as it would require a change of use for the property and I believe they are looking for alternative sites.

“It is all unconfirmed at the moment but would be a small step forward.”

The Somerset closed in 2014 and has sat empty ever since – one of 15 pubs to have shut in the city in less than a decade.

Earlier this year it was placed on the Oxford Heritage Asset Register by the city council, which the campaigners hope will help them stave off any attempt to redevelop the site.

Residents of Marston have complained that their area is now devoid of pubs after the nearby Jack Russell burned down in November 2016.

Drumming up support ahead of this Sunday’s event, Mrs Twist added: “People can expect to find everything you normally would do in the pub – good food, great beer and lots of nice people to chat to.

“We want to show how valued a pub would be in this area and how many people would use it if there was one there.”

A petition to save the pub had 721 signatures at the time of going to press.