The owners of a pub near Swindon which is being forced to close have revealed they are trying to sell the building as housing.

Planning permission is in place to turn the The Crown, Shrivenham, into a residential property due to the difficulty of marketing it as a pub.

The pub bosses revealed that it will be closing permanently on April 1 after 15 years of the current ownership.

Kate Hall owns the pub with partner Phil Kent.

She explained: “We initially tried selling it as a pub a couple of years ago, but obviously nobody wants pub at the minute, which is a real shame for the village.

"It feels bad but there are a couple of other pubs in the village. 

“Nobody wants to invest in a pub.

“Everyone else in the business is exactly the same. I go to Bristol, I go to Oxford and I just look in places and they’re just not what they used to be. 

“I think it's a knock-on effect after Covid. Everyone's got loans and they're all paying it back. 

“We're a bit of a luxury, we're a bit more restauranty. I think everyone can afford to buy a pint but it's quite a commitment to go out for a nice meal.”

The pub was initially granted planning permission to convert into a pair of semi-detached two-storey dwellings on 28th February 2023 by the Vale of White Horse District Council.

The loss of the pub was granted on the grounds that the pub is no longer a viable business.

The planning report states: “It has been concluded that in their [a consultant with local knowledge] opinion The Crown Inn is not a viable business as a public house and is unlikely to be viable in the future. 

“They also consider that reasonable efforts were made to sell the pub at a realistic price.

“Given it's also been on the market and no interest shown, it is therefore unlikely it being reused for another purpose.”

Later the owners were granted permission for a single dwelling on December 12, 2023.

Kate said that they do not plan to move out immediately.

She said: “What we're planning to do is initially close down and then clear all the pub things out and everything. 

"We'll still live here, we'll still live in the village. That'll be our house and then just take a breath and remarket it and sell it as a house.”