THE LATEST shots in the battle to save an internationally renowned Hampshire pub will be fired tomorrow.

Shadow chancellor Michael Howard will be in Hamble tomorrow with Eastleigh's prospective Tory parliamentary candidate Conor Burns to hear residents' concerns over the future of The Bugle in Hamble - a Grade II listed building.

In the evening, Eastleigh council's Bursledon, Hamble and Hound Local Area Committee will be given a verbal report on responses received from the public over a development brief outlining how the borough council sees the future of the site.

The council says the brief was drawn up in response to the landowner submitting plans for modern housing that locals found unacceptable.

But at a public meeting attended by scores of campaigners last week, the "hands off" message was repeated - even though villagers were told that the council had no powers to force the owner of the pub to keep it open.

Following the public meeting, Solent Protection Society spokesman John Madin told the Daily Echo: "If one doesn't fight the loss of the Bugle pub and fight the change of use and fight the appeal then we will lose the Bugle pub anyway. If we do fight it we stand a very good chance of winning."

Earlier this year, Braemore Wessex Ltd lodged an application for the conversion of the pub to a three-bed home with 13 new three-storey homes in the car park.

Locals slammed the scheme and Eastleigh Council failed to determine the application within the statutory eight-week period.

As a result, the developers lodged an appeal which will be heard by a government planning inspector on November 25.

Tomorrow, the local area committee will be invited to consider any changes that should be made to the council's development brief prior to it going to the powerful executive Cabinet for a final decision.