Pub set to reopen after council bought it

Community groups wanted to restore the Crown Inn after it closed two years ago

A pub is set to reopen its doors for the first time in two years after it was bought by a local council.

Community groups wanted to restore and reopen the Crown Inn in Newcastle-on-Clun, Shropshire, after it stopped trading in February 2023.

Newcastle Parish Council said the purchase of the pub was completed on Friday after it successfully got finance from the government's Community Ownership Fund (COF).

The pub will open from 10:00 until 12:00 GMT on 1 March for people to see it in its current condition before it closes again for refurbishment, the council said.

The Friends of the Crown Inn said it had planned a series of fundraising events to raise money for the pub's renovation and maintenance.

On Friday, the group hosted a pop-up pub event at Newcastle Community Centre to help "save the pub".

The parish council said that further grants were being applied for and more updates would be provided as work progressed.

Friends of the Fox Inn at Ryton have also applied for a COF to purchase the county pub after it closed in September 2022.

The group said it had started "the conveyancing process" on the purchase and would be providing an updated business plan in the next month.