Residents' hopes of opening their own pub on a Witney housing estate have been raised again after a rival brewery pulled out of a deal to buy the land, writes Suzanne Huband.

A part of Deer Park estate was earmarked for a pub more than ten years ago, but no brewery was interested. In 1995 residents launched a company called Community Pub.

It gained planning permission for a pub and raised money to buy the land.

But hopes were dashed earlier this year when Abingdon-based brewery Morland put in a higher bid and was given the go-ahead to build a friends and family-style pub. Last week Greene King, which has taken over Morland, said it was pulling out of the deal with developer Bovis.

Greene King's Donald Stevenson said: "The site is not one we can invest in. We would be happy if Community Pub can take on the project."

Community Pub director Mike Freer said: "This is excellent news and we are delighted. Our bid has remained on the table and I shall contact Bovis.

"We thought we had lost the battle, but now it seems we are back in with a shout. We could even be pulling pints by the end of next year." Bovis spokeswoman Lorna Hornsby said: "Morland has pulled out of the deal and we are looking for another buyer."

Story date: Wednesday 01 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.