A community shop and post office which became unviable may be turned into a granny flat for the attached house.

Mr Delevigne has applied to West Oxfordshire District Council for change of use permission of the former Woodpecker Community Shop on School Road in Finstock which was previously an outbuilding of Crown House.

The premises have been vacant since Spring 2023 as the community venture was not viable and had not been for some time.

Historically, the building was stables then became an outbuilding and party barn forming part of the Crown House public house.

In 2001, the permission for the conversion of the stables structure to “form a shop and post office” was permitted.

A planning statement said it is the council's policy "to prevent the loss of shops and other commercially run services and facilities, unless the existing use is unviable and is incapable of being made viable".

"The application site was heavily subsidised and paid nil rent. Even with these highly favourable conditions it failed to make a profit," it states.

"In its last year of operation, it made an operating loss of £570, despite donations amounting to £6,000 that sought to balance the books."

Announcing the closure in Finstock News, Rod Ireland said: “Income has continued to decline, and our costs have risen to the point that we would now have to triple our daily revenue just to reach a break-even point.

"In Finstock, we have been rescued in the past – particularly just before the pandemic – by generous gifts from villagers. 

"I have to tell you that any further gestures of this kind would be futile, such is the scale of our shortfall in trade."