WITH reference to the story "Residents delight at decision," Saturday, November 4, about the Seven Stars pub, Little Lever.

I don't agree with lap dancing but I would like to see the pub re-opened. I would like to defend the pub!

The Seven Stars has been my local pub for the past 20 years. The locals who go in there are friendly and being a woman it's the only pub in Little Lever that I can walk into on my own and not feel threatened in any way. I have never seen drugs being used or sold in the pub.

As for fighting, well you can count the number of occasions on one hand. The pubs in the centre of the village have more trouble than the Seven Stars. The pub should not be responsible for what goes on outside. Whenever anything happens it's a case of "let's blame the Seven Stars".

Cllr Sean Hornby commented on how concerned he was that the pub had several changes in ownership/landlords over the past years and no one seemed to make it work. Well, that's down to the immediate residents. The pub was there before most of the houses around there were built and any person in their right mind wouldn't buy a house near a pub if all they wanted was a quiet neighbourhood. It's no wonder the pub changed hands so many times.

If the owners/landlords wanted any sort of change, whether it was a music licence for a karaoke night or opening a little later, that was quashed immediately because the residents didn't want it.

Therefore people didn't go in (only the "dedicated" locals) because there wasn't any entertainment on and it closed earlier than most of the other pubs. The owners/landlords couldn't make it pay so they packed in and someone else took over and it went on like that in a vicious circle for about eight years.

Before The Seven Stars closed it had turned back into a social event on the Little Lever pool calendar. The last landlord, Ian Churchill, before he so suddenly died, created four pool teams which played on a Wednesday night, plus a darts team and a golf society. So as you can see it was a pub that people wanted to visit and it's a shame that the neighbours just couldn't see that.

Julia Miller, Little Lever