Local with historic links to football to stay as pub

A HISTORIC Sheffield pub which played a role in the birth of modern football looks set to be saved – despite a community bid to buy the building falling short.

The Plough, in Sandygate Road, Crosspool, stands opposite the world’s oldest football ground, home to Hallam FC, and is where the rules of football were drafted.

It has been closed since last year but after plans to convert the site into a supermarket were rejected campaigners launched a bid to take over the building.

A mystery business offered to buy the venue and lease it back to The Plough Community Group, which successfully raised £120,000 to cover the start-up costs by inviting locals to pledge to buy shares in the pub.

But the group said it has now been told by owner Enterprise Inns its bid of £435,000, based on a professional valuation, was ‘significantly’ less than a rival offer.

Peter Duff, who chairs the group, said it was not willing to enter into a bidding war over the premises.

But he said the owner has said the rival bid was from someone wishing to reopen the pub who has a “track record in the industry”.

“We’re disappointed the community bid appears to have failed but our aim was always to ensure the pub reopens and if that happens, as looks likely, we will have achieved our ambition,” he said.

“If we hadn’t started our campaign and revealed the tremendous local commitment to support the pub we believe it could have ended up as one of the 20 pubs lost forever every week across the UK.

“We hope the buyer has seen that support and realised if people are willing to put their money into saving it they will want to come and drink there.”

A spokesman for Ei Publican Partnerships, the leased and tenanted division of Enterprise Inns, said: “We can confirm that we have reached agreement to sell the Plough at Sandygate, Sheffield.”