Campaigners fighting to prevent the Pensby Hotel being demolished to make way for a care home have applied for it to be listed as a community asset.

If the application is granted by Wirral council, it would mean the site cannot be sold without giving the local community the chance to bid for it.

The move is part of a campaign to save the pub, started after Ideal Care Homes submitted plans for a 60-bed three storey care home for older people on the Ridgewood Drive site.

If approved the proposals would create 40-50 jobs, with up to 14 staff on site at any one time.

The Pensby Hotel has been closed since last October, just 10 months after it re-opened under new management.

It came after Admiral Taverns took back the licence from former landlord Shane Blanshard in November 2013 after a 538-plant cannabis farm was uncovered above the pub.

The firm today said that it has “reluctantly” had to review its options after failing to establish the required level of consistent trade or attract a long-term licensee, and said it was “apparent that the site may be better utilised for something other than a pub”.

But campaigners fighting to save the “iconic” building say the area needs a pub and not a care home.

In pictures: the cannabis raid on the Pensby Hotel in November 2013

They also have concerns over the scale of the care home plan and parking, with just 14 spaces allocated in the proposals.

An online campaign to save the pub has so far been signed by more than 400 people, with two paper petitions also gathering hundreds of signatures.

John Hughes, a local taxi driver and businessman who is part of the campaign group, said: “They want to demolish the building and we’re not having it, it’s an iconic landmark. We know it’s had difficulties in the past but to knock it down?

“We will fight this and stop it. We don’t want a care home in the community. We have got one pub and it’s now closed, it should be open.

“If we get the application to have it listed granted we hope it will stop the clock and give us six months to explore our options to save the building.

“We want to meet with Admiral Taverns, we could make a successful business out of it for them. But if they want to sell it, with the backing of local businesses and the community we may look at putting a bid in. There is funding out there. We want to make it into a community building, not just a pub.”

The campaign has been backed by Pensby Labour Cllr Phill Brightmore, who collected a petition at a meeting last Thursday calling on the council to reject the care home plans.

He said: “Residents are committed to fighting these plans, and finding a future use that will not impact unfairly on those living closest to the pub. They also shared concerns around the scale of the building and the lack of adequate parking provision, which would create an overspill that would impact on the community. It’s an iconic building and I don’t want to see the soul ripped out of the community.”

The online petition is available to view here.