The owners of a disused village pub have been told they have 12 months to move out or restore it as a business, after plans to convert it into housing were turned down.

Proposals to shut the White Lion in St Leonards for good were emphatically rejected after members of Chiltern District Council's planning committee cast doubt over claims the business was no longer viable.

And members went even further as they issued an enforcement notice telling the owner - who has been using it as a private dwelling - to either sell up and vacate or re-open it as a pub.

John Miller, who bought the White Lion from previous owners Punch Taverns, said he received an offer of £300,000 from the Save the White Lion campaign group. He said this was later lowered to £250,000, which he rejected, and claimed the offer to buy the pub was later withdrawn.

Mr Miller, who had submitted a retrospective application to convert the pub into a house, said: "Our research showed it wasn't well supported by the local community.

"The final tenant was only paying £20 a week rent but on leaving was still making a loss.

"Punch Taverns closed it because they couldn't make a profit and have had two and a half years of trying to sell it. The village group could have bought it at any point."

Mr Miller said the pub sold five and a half barrels' worth of beer in its final year of operating - which led Cllr Michael Prince, himself a pub landlord, to say: "any decent pub sells that in a day".

He added: "Simply put an advert in the Publican magazine to find someone who knows what they are doing and how to run it. It's not difficult."

Cllr Nick Rose said: "The applicant knew perfectly well what they were doing. This is particularly cynical.

"The applicant used marketing data that was some months, if not years, out of date. To my mind, the case they made for not being viable was flimsy in the extreme.

"This is a gross insult to the village. You only have to look around tonight and see the strength of feeling - there is huge resolve.

"The community would, I am quite certain, support a pub which was viable."

Committee members were told the 169 members of the Save the White Lion group - many of whom were present at Thursday's planning meeting - managed to raise £370,000 in cash to buy the pub and restore the interior.

The application received 157 letters of objection and was opposed by the parish council - whose views were endorsed by 80 people who attended a meeting, the committee hearing was told.

Cllr Peter Jones said: "Our planning policy states very clearly if you want to convert a community facility, you've got to jump through lots of hoops. That, to me, hasn't been done here."

Cllr Jonathan Rush was the only member of the planning committee to vote in favour of approving the scheme, with everyone else rejecting the plans - to applause from the villagers who attended the meeting.