'Help us save last remaining pub in our village'

Ickleton Lionhearted is trying to raise the funds needed to buy the Lion and open it as a community-owned pub

Villagers are trying to raise £450,000 to save their last remaining pub.

The Ickleton Lion, Cambridgeshire, opened as a public house in 1728 but has closed and was put up for sale by owner Greene King in 2023.

Residents hope to raise the sum before 24 September so they can buy the Lion and open it as a community-owned pub protected from potential redevelopment.

In World War Two the pub, close to the Essex border, was a popular haunt for US airmen, and in recent years has served scientists from the Wellcome Genome Campus and cyclists along Route 11.

Community group Ickleton Lionhearted created a community benefit society and will launch a share offer on Wednesday.

It said this would provide an affordable way to support the pub and give shareholders a say in how it was run.

Rachel Radford, chair of Ickleton Lionhearted, said: “The Lion has been serving the local communities of Ickleton, Hinxton, Duxford, Great Chesterford and beyond for three centuries.

"We want a thriving pub at the heart of our village again.

“Sadly, the election has suspended some community grants that we hoped to benefit from so we are even more dependent on the generosity of the local people."

'Our cultural heritage'

As the pub has been registered as an asset of community value, Greene King has been prevented from selling it to a body other than to a community interest group before the September deadline.

Simon Cheney, vice-chair of the group and owner of the central Cambridge restaurant Bread & Meat, said his vision was to create a welcoming meeting place, with affordable drinks and good quality, home-cooked, simple food.

"The Ickleton Lion won’t just be a place to eat and drink, but a community hub allowing people to connect with one other and access essential services and support groups," he said.

"Our village used to have six pubs with another just outside and we hope to keep the Lion as part of our cultural heritage.”