Campaigners raise £450k for community pub bid

The New Clarence in Hull has been empty since June 2023

A campaign group looking to reopen a Hull pub has hit its target of raising £450,000 to try to buy the venue.

After The New Clarence, in the city centre, closed in 2023, plans to turn it into a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) were rejected by Hull City Council.

Hull Community Pub Society (HCPS) has secured a £300,000 grant from the government to turn it into a community owned-pub.

The BBC has contacted the current owner of the building for comment.

Simon Berry, the chair of HCPS, said: "It would be incredible for us to make a co-operative community-owned pub a reality."

The site, on Charles Street, is one of three in Hull registered as an Asset of Community Value.

It closed in June last year and was sold by Admiral Taverns to developer Kingston Apartments.

Plans were then put forward to convert the building into a 29-bed HMO, with the developer claiming at the time that it was the "only viable option" for it.

However, Hull City Council rejected the plan, which led to HCPS starting a crowdfunding campaign in an attempt to buy the building.

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