A neighbour row has erupted after villagers opposed pub owners' plans to turn the boozer into a five-bed house.
Lee and Sally Turland had to make the heartbreaking decision to close their pub of 26 years in 2022, saying they had "no choice" as it was no longer "financially viable."
The couple want to transform the 150-year-old Boot Inn into a five-bed house but are now stuck in a planning row with locals who have launched a campaign to preserve it.
Despite reducing their asking price three times, the pair could not sell the pub, located towards the west of Andover.
They say the "only other option" is to convert their pub into a home.
Their decision has been met by a fierce campaign group who are hoping to raise the funds to buy the pub so it can be a "thriving, inclusive community hub".
Discussing the campaign, Mr Turland said: "The real killer here is most of those people, or all of them, hardly ever came into this pub.
"They'd all go down to the Shipton Bellinger Sports and Social Club, which is actually the real hub of the community."
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The Boot Inn has been on sale for three years
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The pub was closed in 2022 due to rising costs and a reduction in staff levels.
Mrs Turland explained: "We closed the pub at the end of July 2022.
"This was a business that we worked really hard for over 26 years. It was no longer financially viable.
"We didn't want to shut. I spent the last three weeks before we closed crying in front of customers."
The couple reduced the asking price of the pub all the way from £975,000 to £525,000.
Mrs Turland said: "It won't sell because no one wants to buy a pub. People don't want to buy a rural pub."
The pair launched planning applications in 2023 and 2024 to transform the empty pub into a residental house, but both of these plans were rejected.
They were informed last year that a campaign group had been set up to "save" the pub.
The pub's owners say locals go to the Shipton Bellinger Sports Club
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The couple have not lodged a third application to convert the pub into a five-bed house, saying they have "no other choice".
The Turlands have been met with online "hate" and branded "greedy".
Mrs Turland said: "They are trying to dictate to us what we can or can't do with our homes.
"We're still living here because we have no other choice. We can't go anywhere until this building sells."