Campaigners hope shares pledge will help save historic pub
CaMPaiGNeRS are stepping up their battle to save a historic pub in the village from developers.
For the past two years, the campaign group Save The oddies Pub (SToP) have been battling to keep the oddfellows arms in Higham-on-the-Hill.
They say that the 250 year-old pub is at risk of being demolished to pave the way for houses.
SToP members want to reopen the site as a community space for all to enjoy.
Plans have been re-submitted to demolish The oddies, built in 1799, and build up to 25 homes on the site.
in a bid to prevent this, SToP campaigners have been working with the Plunkett organisation to set up a Community Benefit Society (CBS) and are inviting people to sign up to a pledge to buy shares to
buy the pub. David Wilkinson, chairman of SToP, said: “once it’s gone, it is gone forever. The oddfellows has been a fundamental
part of the lives of many families in the village for generations. it’s quite literally been at the heart of the village community for 200 years.
Community ownership will ensure we keep that crucial hub for future generations.” This is the second application to be submitted for the site and SToP members claim its loss would have a huge impact.
emily Davis, who grew up in the village, said: “The oddfellows arms has been the hub of the community for many years, it is where friendships were formed and people came together.
“This is even more apparent in these times; the residents of the village have become isolated from each other. Losing this village asset and its only community space will have a detrimental effect on the residents, especially as the community recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
a hybrid planning application, from aR Cartwright Ltd, has been submitted to Hinckley and
Bosworth Borough Council.
it asks for full permission for the part demolition/part conversion of the former public house to a dwelling house and construction of five dwellings with access and outline permission for the erection of up to 20 dwellings and associated infrastructure
as well as planning to fight the application when it is heard in March, the next phase of SToP’s campaign is to convert the groundswell of public opinion into pledges to purchase shares in the CBS to help them buy the pub.
Those interested in putting forward a non-binding pledge to buy shares to visit their page at https:// savetheoddiespub.wixsite.com/ stop. Donations can also be made through their page at https://uk. gofundme.com/f/to-reopen-theoddfellows-higham-on-the-hill.