It was really good to see our colleagues at The Fleece Inn on BBC Countryfile this weekend – they’re a great example of how a community run pub can reinvigorate a place, providing vital services and a focal point for local people to meet and socialise.
The uproar surrounding the loss of The Crooked House in August also really put the value of pubs as a focus for community in the spotlight. It has highlighted the importance of these institutions in people’s lives and a stronger appreciation of the role they play in both a formal and informal way. It might also have raised awareness of the challenges faced by communities as they seek to protect their local pubs and community spaces.
It’s not easy to keep the energy up when these things can take a long time but encouragement from local people and other organisations keeps us going. Sadly, the five years we have been working to secure the pub is not unusual, especially when you are not lucky enough to have a ‘willing vendor’. We have found the advice and support from other community groups around the country really encouraging – it’s also been a pleasure to be able to share experiences and give some guidance to other groups who are embarking on the same journey.
It is frustrating to have to report almost the same thing when people ask how it’s going but even slow progress is movement in the right direction! However, we’ve now spent five years campaigning, fundraising and planning to secure The Oddfellows Arms as a community pub. We’re in a good position to get on with the project when the current owners decide they will progress with selling to us.
If you live in the local area, you will have seen the media publicity about Higham CBS securing approval for the government Community Ownership Fund. This is to provide matched funding for the grants and shares that we are securing to contribute to refurbishing the buildings to provide a social hub for the community. This COF grant approval, secured even before we have managed to get the pub from the current owners, shows the value the government places on these facilities. We continue to work with the Parish Council to secure the funding to complete a purchase so The Oddies will be truly ‘community owned’.
It was really good to speak with our MP Dr Luke Evans last week – he continues to be very supportive of the plans for the community hub. We have also been to speak to the local CAMRA group who are looking forward to holding a branch meeting at the Oddies!
Dr Luke has rightly said that “Village pubs are so much more than a place to grab a quick drink. Pubs like The Oddfellows are a place for families, friends and neighbours to come together, for people to feel like part of their community and can be a warm and welcoming space in times of hardship” and Jacob Young MP (Dept for Levelling Up) highlighted that “these places …are the golden thread which run through our social fabric and keeping them going is vital for supporting our communities.”
The main thing holding us back is the unwillingness of the owners to progress with their initial offer to sell The Oddfellows Arms to the community and to agree a fair price for the pub site we have been discussing for five years. It’s a shame that they don’t see that the optics for their plans for the rest of the site would be better if the community knew that they had committed firmly to sell the site under discussion to allow us to provide vital community support and services. Instead they prefer to delay and avoid engaging with us which means the state of this loved local community asset is also being allowed to decline. It’s a familiar playbook to communities across the country but one that we are determined to address.