SCORES of residents battling to save an internationally renowned pub in the yachting mecca of Hamble crowded into a public meeting at the village's Memorial Hall last night.

Dozens of villagers - many carrying placards - staged a demonstration outside the hall before the meeting which had been arranged by Hamble Parish Council.

The meeting was called so villagers could put under the microscope a development brief for the Bugle public house - a waterfront pub claimed to be known around the world as a haven for the yachting community.

The owner of the pub has submitted plans to Eastleigh Council for housing to be built at the historic grade II listed building.

Outlining the council's development brief for the site Eastleigh Council's planning policy chief Cliff Bowden told residents that the council had no power to force the owner of the pub to keep it open.

He said: "We cannot prevent all change but change that needs planning permission we can control."

Mr Bowden revealed that 21 letters of objection to the proposals had been received by Eastleigh planners - as well as a 450-strong petition opposing the plans.

He added: "We need to accept that there are limits to the powers of a local planning authority. The council may well share community aspirations for this site but when we prepare the development brief it must reflect what we can do and what we can't do."

John Madin, from the Solent Protection Society, told the meeting that there was "great concern" among residents and the wider yachting community that the pub would be forced to close.

He urged councillors, officers and residents to co-operate to safeguard the future of the pub.

He said: "This restaurant is a national amenity with views across the River Hamble, the only public restaurant with such views in Hamble village or indeed on the River Hamble. Surely, the amenity value should have been the main priority."

Leader of Eastleigh Council councillor Keith House said the council had received "clear advice" from officers that the authority would be likely to lose if it opposed the planning application.

He said: "The local council does not have powers to say that the pub should remain. We just can't do it."

Earlier this year, Braemore Wessex Ltd lodged an application for the conversion of the pub to a three-bedroomed home with 13 new three-story homes in the car park fronting the historic Hamble foreshore.

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 on the grounds of non-determination which will be heard by a planning inspector in the autumn.

Meanwhile, the council has drawn up a development brief outlining what the planning authority would like to see happen on the site if it is redeveloped.