First for villagers after pub takeover
Gartmore community also owns the local shop
Gartmore is to become the first community in Scotland to own both its shop and pub.
Villagers, who have successfully run a communityowned shop for 21 years, have been awarded a grant by the Scottish Land Fund to do the same with the Black Bull hotel.
The hotel will be converted into a hub and pub for the benefit the village’s 350 residents and visitors.
It comes after the present pub owners, Andy and Liz Malcolm, decided to sell to concentrate on other businesses and gave the community the opportunity to purchase below the market value.
Following a public meeting and extensive community consultation, the village has so far raised £35,000 and expects to gather the remaining £20,000 needed.
This, together with the Scottish Land Fund grant, will fund the project. A community benefit society, The Black Bull Hub Gartmore, has been formed to run it.
The pub is on a national cycle route and there are plans to use the building as an all-day coffee shop, a business hub and gathering place for young people.
Two village businessmen David Teed and Peter Sunderland are behind the initiative.
Mr Teed said: “Our worry was if the Black Bull came on the open market it would end up, like most of the other pubs that have been sold in the area, and be converted into flats. It would then be lost to the village forever.
“As a community we are fairly isolated, there are only a couple of buses a day, so we would be without a place that’s open in the evening to meet friends and neighbours. We are keen to make the hub the centre of the village and a welcoming place for all.”
Mr Sunderland added: “It’s great news, 21 years ago we nervously took on the shop and post office and despite all odds we have continued to trade.
“The Black Bull is at the heart of village life and essential to the wellbeing of the village. We will make changes and create a hub that meets the needs of the whole village.
“We are under no illusion it will be hard work, and while we will do our best we may not please everyone. But the effort is worth it. The shop has been a challenge and maybe this will be a bigger one, but there is no doubt the village would be a sad place if the pub was to close.”
■ A plan to convert the Killearn Hotel, also known as the Black Bull, into flats was approved by Stirling Council in October 2017.
The hotel, owned by Punch Taverns, ceased trading in January 2016 as a number of licensees had failed to make it profitable.
A planning application for the flats attracted 36 objections including opposition to change of use from Killearn Community Council.
However, councillors backed the flats scheme pointing out that the Black Bull building was in poor condition and in danger of becoming derelict.
The Buchlyvie Inn, whose building dates from 1851, was put up for sale in July 2017 and Buchlyvie Community Council, concerned about the loss of commercial premises in the area, had been looking into a community buyout as the village’s former Rob Roy Inn had been turned into flats a number of years ago.
However, former community council chairman Ian Bremner told the Observer this week that the plans were in limbo. He added: “The problem is that we did not have a group set up to go ahead and get permission for a buy-out before it was up for sale, we applied afterwards. That didn’t meet with the legislation unfortunately.”