IT is great to see that two Herefordshire pubs are welcoming customers under new ownership and management.

I wish the teams at the Swan Inn on Aylestone Hill and the Red Lion at Madley all the best, and certainly hope to visit them both at some point in the very near future.

What a shame, though, that the owners of another Herefordshire pub are trying to do the opposite by applying to Herefordshire Council for a change of use (Locals blast plans to turn Herefordshire pub into home, October 4).

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The Lamb Inn in Stoke Prior’s future is in the balance, with the owners claiming that it is not viable as a business and seeking to turn in into a home. Looking at the number of objections registered by locals, though, it seems there are still plenty who want their village pub back.

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

Village pubs are the heart of their community and should, in my view, be preserved wherever possible. They are hubs for meeting people, somewhere to just spend an hour or so out of the house, and somewhere to enjoy the company of others.

Once they are gone they are gone forever, and a village loses a key facility, especially for older people who might otherwise go days or even weeks without company.

BARRY JAMES

Bromyard