‘Lifeline’ Boost for locals in fight to save closed pub
ABRISTOL pub that has been closed for almost two years has been handed a “lifeline” after being registered as an ‘asset of community value.’
The Cross Hands, in Bedminster Down, shut in October 2019, with Greene King saying it had made the “difficult decision” to put it up for sale.
Just days later, a Bristol-based demolition firm announced it had taken the pub on – but told the Post’s sister website Bristol Live that it wanted to reopen it after a major transformation, rather than knock it down.
John Wring, managing director of Wring Group, said his company would be “refurbishing the property and reopening it as a public house with a good food offering”.
But almost two years on the venue is still boarded up, with concerned locals questioning whether it will ever operate as a pub again.
It is not known if Wring Group still intends to refurbish the pub as it first stated, or plans to demolish the building and sell the land to housing developers.
When contacted by the Post, Wring’s operations director, Dean Wring, said he had “no comment for now”.
If the demolition firm does plan to use the site for housing, that may now prove more difficult after the pub was registered as an asset of community value by a group of residents determined to see it reopen.
Now that the pub has been acknowledged as an ACV with Bristol City Council, it means the local community will be informed if it is listed for sale within the next five years.
If that happens, the community could then enact the ‘community right to bid,’ which would give it a period of six months to determine if it could raise the money needed to buy the asset.
Bianca Rossetti, who was instrumental in securing the ACV, said the latest development acted as a “lifeline” for the pub.
“The news has come as a huge sigh of relief to a lot of people in the area,” said the 34-year-old.
“It means there’s now a five-year period during which the pub can’t be turned into something that wouldn’t benefit the community, such as private housing.
“It’s a lifeline for the pub, but of course it’s not a guarantee that it will be reopening any time soon. It does, however, give us a bit of breathing space and put pay to rumours that it has already been sold to housing developers.”
An asset of community value is defined as a building previously or currently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community.
Although the reviews of the pub were less than glowing in the weeks leading up to its closure under Greene King, it has long played a vital role in Bedminster Down.
Bianca hopes it can be restored as an important pillar of the community in the not-too-distant future.
“The Cross Hands has played a really important part in people’s social lives and in their overall sense of belonging in Bedminster Down for decades, and that has been missed while the pub has been shut,” she added.
“We’d like to see some community activities take place there so that it can be a social meeting place as well as somewhere that supports the local economy.
“We want it to be run by and for the local community, with a similar vibe to the Zion, which is a fantastic community asset.”