Buying community pubs a long haul, claim villagers

Last year, hundreds of pubs pulled their last pints before closing for good

Villagers across the West, who are trying to buy their local pubs for the community, claim the process can be long and frustrating.

In the Cotswold village of Nympsfield residents are aiming to raise £400,000 to buy the Rose and Crown, which has been closed for more than a year.

In Chitterne, Wiltshire, villagers hope finally to get the keys to their last surviving pub after campaigning since 2017 to purchase it.

"There's palpable excitement for it to reopen in the village," said Richard Hendrickse, chair of the Chitterne Community Pub Group (CCPG).

It is an all-too-familiar story - last year alone more than 500 pubs called last orders for the last time, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

The situation has not been helped by the change to a Labour government, which has yet to decide whether to continue with the Conservatives' Community Ownership Fund (COF), which helps communities with grants to purchase buildings.

The Rose and Crown pub in Nympsfield is a much-loved community venue

Originally known as The Ducie Arms and dating from the 17th Century, the Rose and Crown in Nympsfield has been closed since early 2023 and is being sold for £350,000.

The village has set up a Community Benefit Society to raise the required funds. A share offer went live on 7 September and will be open for at least eight weeks.

The group has a six-month agreement in place with the owner to have first refusal but was part-way through applying for a grant from the COF when the July general election was called.

Matt Burke, Chair of Nympsfield Pub Project, said: "It will be a major blow if the new government scrap COF, or make projects like ours ineligible for it in the future.

"However, we always considered it as one, but not the only, funding option.

"We have an active grants team who are continuously looking for grants and trusts that might support a community pub project like ours."

Originally known as The Ducie Arms, the pub in Nympsfield changed its name to the Rose and Crown in the 1890s

One resident, Jo Beeston, remembers the Rose and Crown as the centre of the community when she was growing up in the village as a child.

"It would be lovely to have it back, there's many of us who are very, very keen for it to be reopened again.

"The pub closing just shuts the door to loads of things that happen in the community," she said.

Residents in Chitterne, Wiltshire, have been campaigning since 2017 to buy the last surviving village pub

The Kings Head in Chitterne, Wiltshire, closed in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, although local residents were trying to buy the pub years before.

They have had to fight off plans to sell the pub for housing, helped by Wiltshire Council, who deemed it an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

The isolated village on the edge of Salisbury Plain has no shop, post office or regular bus service, so widespread support amongst locals for buying the pub resulted in the formation of the CCPG.

'Open to the rest of the world'

Mr Hendrickse told the BBC they had 100 investors who have raised more than £300,000, and the group has taken out a £100,000 loan to launch the purchase.

"The villagers stumped up the money, so they are excited.

"It felt like we needed a part of the village that was open to the rest of the world."

He added that he hopes finally to get the keys before the end of September and for it to fully open by Christmas this year with a new landlord.

Residents in Oaksey, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, have successfully registered the Wheatsheaf Inn as a community asset

Villagers in Oaksey, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, have been concerned about their local, the Wheatsheaf Inn, over the past decade.

The pub has been struggling financially after numerous tenants "encountered difficulties", despite being "well-used by locals".

Oaksey Parish Council said: "The parish council and villagers are concerned that as there is no tenant, someone may purchase the freehold and attempt to apply for change of use to residential, because of lack of commercial viability."

Residents have now successfully registered the pub as an ACV, which gives them a right to bid if the ownership became available.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government told the BBC that they are aware communities are looking for clarification of levelling up funding and will set out further detail of this in due course.