‘We will find cash to reopen the Dell’
ACAMPAIGNER determined to reopen a fire-damaged Southport pub for community use says he is confident that the large sums of money needed can be raised.
Jason McCormack is leading the Blundell Arms Community Pub group’s efforts to buy, restore and reopen the pub in Upper Aughton Road, Birkdale, which has been empty since 2016.
Although developers have bought the site and submitted plans to knock down the pub for housing, Jason said negotiations were ongoing to buy part of the land on which the pub sits, leaving space for a smaller number of homes.
With £200,000 needed for the purchase and another six-figure sum for restoration, a crowdfunding campaign is under way to find 500 local investors willing to buy £250 of shares each.
Jason, a care worker who lives near the pub, said the group has access to match-funding for more than £100,000, while the Government’s More Than a Pub scheme could bring in up to £150,000 through grants and loans.
His plans for the pub – known locally as the Dell
– include a dementia cafe, microbrewery, gin distillery and meeting rooms for community and business use – ideas which have come through other parties expressing interest.
If successful, it would be the first community pub to open in Merseyside but Jason is confident it can become a reality, if the initial finances can be raised to trigger the larger investments, and that it would have something to offer for everyone in the area.
He said: “Having spoken to people around here they don’t want it to be a Mr Qs pool bar which it turned into in the ’90s.
“They want it to be a quiet place in the daytime and managed sensibly in the evening when there are events on.”
There are 85 other community pubs around the country which have been supported by similar campaigns, and Jason said: “There are lots of examples of pubs getting there through crowdfunding which were in a worse state and raised more money.”
For more information on the campaign, visit the Blundell Arms Community Pub page on Facebook or email dellpreservation@gmail.com