CAMPAIGNERS are vowing to raise more than £400,000 to buy an under-threat pub and run it for the benefit of the community.

Save The Rose Hill Tavern campaigners have voted in favour of trying to raise the money to save the 145-year-old Brighton pub from being transformed into housing.

Organisers say they will be notifying Brighton and Hove City Council of their intention to bid for the property which under the asset of community value scheme will mean nothing can happen to the pub until October.

The team hope to raise the funds through a community share scheme and potential grants and loans.

The pub was put up for sale by Hove-based Evenden Estates earlier this month after failing to gain planning permission to convert the green-tiled pub into two flats.

The firm had bought the pub from Enterprise Inns after it closed in May last year.

About 30 people attended the group’s meeting at the Calvary Church in London Road, Brighton, including Warren Carter from the Bevy, the country’s first ever estate community pub, and Andrew Large, from South London CAMRA.

Community share expert David Boyle, who is working on the campaign team, said: “We had a discussion about whether we thought there was scope for a community bid to buy the pub, and a vote was taken at the end which was agreed with one person against, and so we’ll be notifying the Council of our intention to lodge a bid, which will then mean nothing can happen to the pub until the start of October.

“We’ve got around five months then to get our funds together and hope Evenden estates are interested in selling to us if we raised the asking price, as they’re under no obligation to sell.

“We’d be looking to raise the capital from a Community Share issue plus maybe some grants, and we know that there’s possible loan finance we can get too.

“The challenge is to construct a viable business plan which goes beyond a traditional pub and reaches other parts of the community too, and we start that with a meeting on Tuesday of the new steering group who’ll be working to take it forward.”

For more information or to get involved in the team visit facebook.com/savetherosehilltavern.