VILLAGERS have been toasting the future of their local which until recently was threatened by housing developers.

Radcliffe-based leisure company Provence have acquired Summerseat's popular Waterside Inn.

The news is a victory for local residents who fought a long drawn out battle to save the pub from being turned into ten luxury apartments with seven houses being built nearby.

The future of the Waterside Inn lay in the balance when it went into administrative receivership and Price Waterhouse Coopers appointed Marsden Inns to run the pub-restaurant. Following which Wirral-based Landmark Developments Ltd lodged an application to develop the site.

But local residents started an SOS (Save our Summerseat) campaign arguing that the development would not be in keeping with the area and would lead to problems, including increased traffic. Residents enlisted the support and backing of Emmerdale star Steve Halliwell aka Zak, who is a regular at the pub.

Last September, planning officers threw out the application agreeing with the residents that it would have a detrimental effect on wildlife in the area.

A spokesman for Provence said: "This is a key asset both for the whole region and the local community. Counting down to our opening in the spring, an extensive refurbishment programme will enhance the retained mill features of the Waterside and position it as one of the region's premier restaurant, wine bar and function venues."

Mr Paul Simon, local resident and company secretary of Marsden Inns, said: "I am delighted that the future of the Waterside Inn has been safeguarded. Thanks have to go to the team that ran it. The future of this pub means a lot to me not only because Marsden Inns were appointed to run it but also because I am a local resident."