CAMPAIGNERS will not be drawn into a bidding war after a community bid for a historic pub on the market for £400,000 was rejected.

Residents are hoping turn the 450-year-old Raven Inn in Glazebury, on Warrington Road, into a community pub after an application to list it as an asset of community value (ACV) was approved.

It came after a developer’s proposal to demolish the historic building to pave the way for housing was withdrawn.

A public meeting was held on Thursday to update residents.

Read Property Associates, which listed the pub on the market, says its client is ‘willing to dispose of the freehold opportunity’ for a sale price in excess of £400,000, exclusive of VAT.

The Help Save the Raven Inn steering group has had the site surveyed and valued.

And it confirmed its offer at the full market value price has been turned down due to there being a ‘higher offer’.

But a spokesman said members were ‘relaxed’ about the situation, had left the offer ‘on the table’ and would not be drawn into a bidding war.

The group also reiterated its determination to oppose any future plans to demolish or seek a change of use for the Raven Inn.

The community right to bid initiative, introduced by the Localism Act 2011, allows communities to nominate buildings or land that are important to them for listing as an ACV.

If successful, communities are afforded an opportunity, and the time, to bid to buy the assets in the event they are put up for sale.

After feeding in comments from residents, campaigners hope a future community pub could also act as ‘community hub’.

The group says it is continuing its work to prepare for a possible purchase, without committing to ‘unnecessary expenditure’.