We as a group keep in touch with the other groups around the country who are working like us to reopen a pub for the benefit for the community. We do this by linking directly with other groups, for example our Treasurer Chris is part of the Chiltern Society an organisation set up to support local community pub ventures, and through the Community Pubs Network on Facebook a resource set up and supported by the Plunkett Foundation.
Our first inspiring example is the Kings Arms Inn, in Devon!
After closing down in March 2013, the pub finally opened to the public. They said:
Thank you to Plunkett Foundation and BACBS for all your support over the years. We are having a bit of a celebration before we start work on Phase 2 - a new community business. Glasses were raised in celebration at The Kings Arms in Stockland as it officially reopened for business on Monday January 20th. Thank you to Plunkett Foundation and BACBS for all your support over the years. We are having a bit of a celebration before we start work on Phase 2 - a new community business.
They had a considerable challenge to get the pub back open, as it followed a series of events not dissimilar to our story at the White Lion, with a series of managers, periods of closure and a final shutdown. Thanks to the Council granting the first ever ACV listing in Devon they managed to secure an advantageous long lease and renovate and reopen. It now has community leaseholders and a brand new team to run the pub including a well-known local Chef from Lyme Regis.
For more information go to www.scpl.org.uk or their Facebook page Stockland Community Pub Ltd.
We all look forward to the time when the White Lion can celebrate the same news!