CLEEVE PRIOR residents celebrated an early Christmas present with the welcome news that their 15-month campaign to save an historic village pub had been awarded a £300,000 cash boost.
Villagers found out on December 23 that a bid to the Government-backed Community Ownership Fund had been successful and will enable a residents group to make an offer to buy the freehold of the Kings Arms and stop it from closing.
The 16th Century Grade II-listed tavern in Bidford Road has been serving the needs of residents and travellers for more than 500 years. It went on the market in January 2023 after the previous tenants left but thanks to campaigning villagers has been open on a limited basis since April 2024.
With the latest analysis showing that the number of pubs in England and Wales hitting a record low with more than 400 closing their doors in 2024, the news couldn’t have come at a better time.
Speaking at the annual Boxing Day village treasure hunt, the chair of Cleeve Prior Community Pub Ltd, Brian Williams declared that the much-loved pub was at the ‘very heart’ of the village supporting this kind of event.
He said: “The grant award, together with the more than £120,000 raised through the sale of community shares, allows us to make an immediate offer to purchase the Kings Arms for the village.
“We are, however, still short of our target of £175,000 for the share offer which we need to fulfill our programme of repairs and refurbishment of this beautiful, old pub.”
Launched in 2021, the Government fund has allocated £150million for community-led enterprises to own and manage essential local facilities such as community centres, sports clubs, shops and pubs.
Grant funding of £36 million was awarded to 85 projects across the UK in December in what was the final round of funding for this scheme.
The announcement was delayed by last year’s General Election so Brian is urging anyone who might have held back purchasing a community share to do so now.
Visit cleevepriorcommunitypub.co.uk to buy one and get more details of the community group’s business plan.
