A pledge to fight closures of village pubs is being made by an Oxfordshire council.

Included in the battle will be shops, post offices, garages, halls, churches, schools and playing fields.

They are all being designated as vital village needs by South Oxfordshire District Council.

Any owners who want to sell will have to answer scores of questions about the possible sale before the council will agree.

The district council planning committee next week will look closely at the criteria and is expected to write them into the council's rulebook.

They were prompted by members worried at the number of pubs being closed and turned into private houses.

They felt pubs were vital in the fabric of village life.

The council called in Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, to come up with some guidelines - and will now apply them to all other village facilities as well.

Before agreeing to changes the council will look at local populations and visitor potential, tourism, competition, parking, the present state of the business and whether it has been fully advertised as a going concern.

The committee wants every possibility examined before giving the go-ahead for any major changes.