IT has been at the heart of the local community for more than 100 years.

The Bridge Tavern, in Ipers Bridge Road, Holbury, has been quenching the thirst of residents and visitors to the New Forest since the start of last century.

But the pub is currently standing empty after apparently becoming a victim of falling profit margins.

Now the National Park Authority (NPA) has received a planning application to turn the building into a house, fuelling fears that the popular watering hole will never reopen.

It comes just days after the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) warned that UK pubs were shutting at the rate of 29 a week.

More than 1,700 called last orders last year and nearly a third of all closures were in London and the south.

The Bridge Tavern has been targeted by burglars and fly-tippers since it shut several months ago.

A statement accompanying the application to convert the building into a family home says: “Despite being actively marketed the site has proven unviable as a public house and has remained vacant.

“An alternative pub, the Old Mill Inn, is only a mile away.”

But the Waterside area has lost several watering holes in recent years. The Croft Tavern in Hythe and the Hampshire Yeoman in Blackfield have both been converted into convenience stores.

And campaigners in Southampton are battling plans to replace the Bittern pub in Thornhill Road with a branch of McDonald’s.

Holbury councillor Alan Alvey is among those who used to visit the Bridge Tavern, which is on the Hill Top to Holbury Road and boasts stunning views of Beaulieu Heath.

“We used to go there for lunch and a drink – it was always a nice walk across the Forest in the summer,” said Cllr Alvey.

“I found the staff to be very friendly. They served good wholesome food and a nice pint of beer. I’d be sorry to see it go.”

Fellow councillor Allan Glass added: “It used to be a very nice pub but turning it into a house would tidy up the site.

“It looks a little down at heel and there’s wire mesh across the front to stop people dumping rubbish in the car park.”

The Bridge Tavern made headlines in 2013 when Pickles, a life-sized model of a pig, was smuggled out of the bar by a group calling itself Fair Play For Drinkers, which was angry at the rising cost of beer.

Regulars launched a “Free Pickles” campaign in a lastditch attempt to rescue the pub’s beloved mascot.