THE fight to save the Wheatley Hotel is no less than a fight for the very future of Ben Rhydding itself.

That's the message being

delivered to hundreds of homes in the area this week by campaign group Save Us Pub. (SUP)

Desperate to stop plans which would see 22 homes created on the Wheatley Lane site and the inn itself partially demolished, SUP has put together a long list of objections.

Now it is desperate for every local resident to put pen to paper and register their opposition

with the planning office at Ilkley Town Hall - while there is still time.

A SUP member, who preferred not to be named, said: "We are asking as many people as possible to tell the council that they belong to a community and that the Wheatley is a central part of that community.

"Punch Taverns (the pub's owners) are in the business of running pubs and if they seriously reckon that a pub like The Wheatley, which is in an affluent area, on a tourist route and with no competition, can't make any money then I am absolutely flabbergasted.

"I think we're slowly starting to bring people's attention to the seriousness of the issue now, in terms of the loss to the community, of questioning why the pub has actually stayed closed, and of realising the scale of the thing and how it will look.

"We have tried to visualise what the plans would look like and the three storey block 'extension' which they are talking about for the pub would be much higher than the existing building.

"So we have included an artist's impression with the letters and fliers we've been distributing to show that - it's probably a more powerful message than all the words.

"The Wheatley served as a meeting place for all sorts of organisations and it would be a big loss, for Ilkley as well as Ben Rhydding, if it was to go for good. The way to get that message across is to get people to lodge as many objections as possible."

Ben Rhydding residents have been without a local pub since the Wheatley closed last summer. Owners Punch Taverns insisted throughout 2002 and earlier this year that they were 'actively looking' for new tenants, but rumours of a lucrative property deal continued to grow ominously in the community.

Those fears were realised earlier this month when Pool-in-Wharfedale based developer Antler Homes submitted its outline planning application for the site - and Punch acknowledged it had been in talks with the firm about selling the land.

SUP aims to oppose the proposals on a wide range of grounds, including over-development, loss of visual amenity, and over density.

But the single biggest reason mentioned in the group's flier is the damage it claims will be caused by the loss of the pub itself.

The document states: "The developers suggest that Ben Rhydding is becoming nothing more than a housing estate which is part of Ilkley. Removing the pub would continue this

alleged trend. Retaining the pub would be a positive step in reversing it.

"The pub provided a social hub for Ben Rhydding."

The attached model letter of objection concludes : "Within the locality of Ben Rhydding there is a sense of community and

identity which makes it more than just a suburb of Ilkley.

"The Wheatley Hotel is an intrinsic part of the sustainability of this community, and has been run as a successful business for many years, supported by this community."

For more information on SUP send an e-mail to TheWheatley@saveuspub.org.uk, call (01943) 603135 or visit www.saveuspub.org.uk/wheatley. Objections to the Antler Homes planning application must be delivered to the Town Hall by Friday, May 30.