EXFORD businesses have vowed to fight a decision to close the village's youth hostel, with some blaming the charity's link-up with Exmoor National Park Authority for the closure. Nine village businesses have already lobbied the Youth Hostel Association's (YHA) chief executive Caroline White about the closure which they fear could have a negative impact on their trade. They have invited her to visit the village to see for herself the range of people who rely on tourists, from a tea room and pub to a livery yard, accommodation providers, general store and post office. Carole Woods, who has a self-catering cottage in the village, said Exford was the centre of Exmoor and visitors to the youth hostel frequently made use of the village's facilities. And she was adamant the association's decision to enter a partnership with the national park authority at the Pinkery Centre was at the heart of its closure decision. In a letter to Ms White signed by nine local businesses and sent via Mrs Woods, she said: "We appreciate you may have focussed attention on your new lease at the Pinkery Centre which is a remote activity facility on Exmoor, but the Exford location suits the needs of many of your guests and groups who 'team up' with traders and events being held in the village. "Needless to say the entire village would feel the effects if the YHA closes here." But Ms White said she had visited Exford in the past and understood the concerns of residents. However, she maintained the village's hostel was running at a loss, something which the charity could not sustain. "I do recognise that closing a hostel is never easy but unfortunately the hostel is not viable for the future, which is the reason the board of trustees have made a decision to sell YHA Exford. "As you will be aware, YHA Exford is a small 49-bed hostel. "It only has an occupancy of 42 per cent and makes an annual loss of over £11,000 without overheads. "The property is badly in need of investment and even if we could push the occupancy over 50 per cent it would still make a significant loss each year." The YHA took over the park authority-owned Pinkery Centre last year on a trial lease after park authority members were told it could cost almost £100,000 a year to retain the centre in-house. Members were told it could not be operated on a "cost neutral basis" by the authority and other organisations, such as the YHA, were better placed to run it. A spokesman for the YHA told the Free Press it was keen to retain a presence in the area by working in partnership with the park authority. He said the charity had taken on Pinkery on a trial three year lease and the decision to close Exford had come about after a review of the hostel network. So far this year the Exford hostel was only operating at 28 per cent capacity. "YHA constantly reviews the quality and the locations of our accommodation to ensure that our members and guests are getting the best experience when they stay with us. YHA has always opened new sites and closed them, adapting and investing in our network. "YHA's board of trustees has made the decision to announce the closure of a number of sites this year. The money will be used to invest in others. "Decisions like hostel closures are never taken lightly and the staff at the affected sites are our first priority," the spokesman said. He said Exford would need investment to try and increase visitor numbers but added: "The hostel has below average use by under 18s. "If occupancy can be grown to 45 per cent it would still make an annual loss of after the full cost of borrowing." He said the hostel would remain open until the end of the 2014 summer season before being sold. A spokesman for Exmoor National Park Authority said it could not comment on the YHA's decision to close the Exford hostel, but said the partnership at Pinkery was working well: "Severe budgets cuts mean that we have had to look for other ways of working in various areas of our business. "Our partnership with the YHA to run Pinkery is the best of both worlds as it has meant that school groups can to continue to use the centre for outdoor education and it is also available for other people to be able to enjoy staying in this remote part of the National Park."