ANGRY Ben Rhydding residents are preparing to take on housing developers in what could be the last battle for the Wheatley Hotel.

Members of campaign group Save Us Pub (SUP) said they reacted with 'astonishment and anger' at claims in documents submitted for a crucial inquiry, starting on Tuesday.

The pub, on Wheatley Lane, was closed in 2002, and owner Punch Taverns has since claimed it was not viable to run the business. It has instead been seeking a housing developer to buy and build on the site.

But in evidence submitted for an appeal against Bradford Council's decision to turn down a housing plan for the pub, Punch has said the viability of the pub as a business is not the focus of their case.

The most recent plan by developer Antler Homes for a total of 18 houses - including conversion of the pub building to apartments - was turned down by Bradford in 2004, after 700 letters of objection from local residents.

Antler appealed against the council's decision, and a Government planning inspector will now conduct a three-day public inquiry at Ilkley's Winter Garden next week.

Bradford Council and Ilkley Parish Council are expected to be there, supporting the decision to refuse planning permission, along with members of SUP, who argue that the Wheatley is an essential part of Ben Rhydding's community as the village's last public house.

Consultants preparing the appeal evidence on behalf of Antler claim the pub's past or potential viability has no bearing on the eventual decision, and that Bradford's own planning guidelines support their case.

SUP member, Alan Drew, disagrees, however. He said: "Bradford's Unitary Development Plan does not advocate the conversion of pubs to housing, and is in any event only part of the evidence which the Inspector will have to consider.

"There is a clear and unambiguous proof demonstrating the important role played by the Wheatley, and the impact its closure has had on the community of Ben Rhydding."

The public inquiry starts at 10am on Tuesday, January 24, in the Winter Garden, Station Road, Ilkley. It is scheduled to last for three days.