Award for group who saved village inn

CAMPAIGNERS WHO saved a 150-year-old village pub from closure have won an award for their efforts.

The Save the Packhorse Project was set up six years ago by residents in the village of South Stoke, near Bath, after their local was sold to new owners who planned to convert it into a house and office.

However, the defiant group started a petition, signed by 1,500 people, and succeeded in adding the Packhorse Inn to their local council’s Asset of Community Value list.

A fundraising campaign was then launched to buy the pub and £600,000 was raised with the help of 200 investors. The residents’ “inspirational” efforts to safeguard the future of their local has now been recognised by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), which announced it had given its coveted Pub Saving Award to the campaign.

The Packhorse Community Pub’s managing director, Dom Moorhouse, said: “It’s really a testament to our visionary, generous shareholders and the hundreds of volunteers who have helped make the project a reality. It’s really hard work, doing what we’ve done, and it’s so rewarding for everyone involved to not only have a great community asset but also be recognised for our achievement as a team.”

The inn is now owned by 430 shareholders who re-opened it as a community venture earlier this year following renovations.

Paul Ainsworth, from Camra, said: “I have followed their story closely – it really is inspirational stuff. I hope that success stories such as this of the Packhorse Community Pub encourage other communities to fight for their local pub.”

The Volunteer Pub, in Bexleyheath, London, was runner-up in the competition.