Regulars at a landmark St Albans pub are fighting to prevent it from becoming an empty space.

Plans to close The King Offa pub in Wallingford Walk and turn it into affordable housing were announced by St Albans District Council earlier this year.

The council already owns the freehold to the pub, which is let on a long lease to a brewery and it is expected that the pub will come back into the council’s full ownership in August, when it will be no longer operate as a licensed premises.

But the plan has been met with an angry response from residents, many of whom are concerned about the number of pubs being shut down in the area in recent years - including the Blue Anchor and The Camp.

Ten regulars at the pub have set up Cottonmill Community Group.

The community group is pitching the idea to the council that the building could be used for events such as coffee mornings, toddler groups and similar activities rather than standing empty for years before redevelopment.

More than 100 people turned up for the group's first meeting last week.

They have now contacted the council with a business pub for the plan and has been asked to provide more financial details.

Spokesman Chris Gilroy said: “We are worried if the pub closes down it will be left empty, and that would be such a waste. We want it kept open in the interim to run as as a hub for the community.

"It is important to have somewhere for the community to go, at the moment it is used by people of all ages and it is a really important asset. We are open to all ideas about what to do with it.

"We think that it does not send out a good message if the building sits empty when it could be used. Rather than forging links with local people it would sit empty. We don't want that. We would aim to be fully self supported, and to that regard wouldn't be a drain."

The group are posting flyers to every house in the Sopwell area asking for input and any skills that might be useful.

The idea is that the King Offa’s use as a community hub would be self-supporting and would raise money by charging for use and possibly renting out rooms above the pub. It is the only licensed premises in the area.

Chris admitted that the pub had once had a bad reputation but that was in the past and the group wanted to raise its profile in the period while it is standing empty.

The 43-year-old added: "It would be awful to loose the pub. The building may not be great but you would have to go a long way to find a better set of people. You could literally find a wife, job and house there - it is that sort of place.

"It is the spirit of the people that make the place."

In June the council invited ideas for the temporary use of the King Offa so it remained viable once the pub was closed.

The council is looking at using a flat above the pub as temporary homeless accommodation and making the building available for use by either a business or community project on a temporary basis.

In October last year an application to turn the pub into a community asset was refused by the council.

A petition set up to prevent the closure gained 215 signatures.