Villagers’ bid to buy pub is thwarted by £1/2m price

A 300-YEAR-OLD pub in North Yorkshire that has been closed since 2011 faces an uncertain future due to its high asking price.

Residents of Fadmoor, near Kirkbymoorside, are campaigning to re-open The Plough Inn as a community hub that could act as a ‘gateway’ to the North York Moors National Park.

The building is owned by local millionaire Peter Wilkinson, who lives at nearby Sleightholmedale, but attempts by the community to buy it have been turned down as they could not meet the £495,000 guide price.

Ryedale councillor Janet Frank, who has backed a bid by Fadmoor Community Pub Company, said: “It would be wonderful to see the pub re-opened. It’s at the gateway to the National Park and in an area that attracts many tourists.

“The pub has been a blot on the landscape for too long and everyone wants to see it given a new lease of life as a community pub.”

The Plough is formally listed as an Asset of Community Value, which restricts its future changes of use and protects it from inappropriate development.

Its owners, the Wilkinson family, say they have submitted planning applications to convert the pub into holiday accommodation and offices, but that their proposals have been rejected by the National Park Authority.

The Fadmoor Community Pub Company is now lobbying for the building to be made subject to a compulsory purchase order after its offer of £350,000 for the property was declined.