Greene King is battling with angry residents who have joined forces to try and save the only remaining pub in Silsoe village, Bedfordshire. More than 100 people have signed a petition calling for the Lord Nelson to re-open. Residents from surrounding villages are also involved in the campaign. Greene King has applied to Mid Bedfordshire District Council to change the pub's premises into a residential property and to build a house on its car park. Barry Simmons, of Church Lane, Flitton, a regular at the pub for the last 23 years, said: "I view this change with great disappointment as it remains one of the few real pubs in the area with almost all the others becoming glorified eating houses. Local professionals used to mix with people from nearby farms until it closed down last year, in an atmosphere which is unique in this area." The council has turned down recent applications to convert other village pubs into residential houses, including the White Hart in Flitton and the Live and Let Live in Pegsdon.
