Fox Inn Loxley: First orders after locals buy village pub

The pub was finally bought by villagers in September after the coronavirus pandemic delayed the sale

A village pub will reopen on Friday after a near two-year campaign by residents to buy it for the community.

The Fox Inn is the only pub in Loxley, Warwickshire, and it went on the market in 2019 amid fears it could be sold to developers and closed.

About 200 people, including some from Germany and America, bought shares at £200 and made donations to help raise £270,000 to buy it.

Residents said the pub would be a "space for the whole community".

"Many thought it was impossible, a dream," the chair of the pub action group, Paul Jennings, said.

"But we created it as a reality and I am looking forward to sitting there with the group and buying them a drink to say well done."

The pub's action group plan to add a cafe, a community space and a vegetable patch and orchard in the future

The pub had been put up for sale by Brewery Ei Group in 2019 with an asking price of £345,000 but they agreed to lower it to £290,000 for the group.

Residents raised the shortfall through a loan and grant from the Plunkett Foundation, which helps communities carry out such projects.

They were poised to buy it in February 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic put the sale on hold until September.

The months since then have seen the pub renovated, a manager and chef appointed and staff trained with trial runs.

Covid restrictions mean they cannot have a large event but residents are hoping for a "big launch party" at the end of August.

The parish council listed the long-standing pub as an "asset of community value"

As well as being a pub, plans for the future of The Fox Inn include adding a cafe, a community space and transforming a field outside.

"Certainly there will be an orchard there, growing vegetables, maybe a wood. It is a great asset and we intent to make use of it," Mr Jennings said.

He added they were certain the pub had a long-term future having seen the importance of community over the past year.

"People have missed their village pub so while it will be difficult, I am confident it will be sustainable," he said.