New support for community-owned pubs announced

It’s good to hear that the government has announced a £3.3m programme of support for community-owned pubs.

The new programme will be led by the Plunkett Foundation, which promotes and supports rural community enterprise.  It will provide support for up to 50 communities to set up and run community-owned pubs over the next three years.

The £3.3m programme will provide grants to communities matched with loans from Co-operative & Community Finance and a contribution from the communities themselves.  Alongside the funding, the programme will provide a range of advice and support to communities to help them through the process of setting up a community-owned pub.

Co-operative-ownership has already proved successful in saving village shops, and it is hoped that it will help to save some of the 40 pubs that are closing down each week.

The Co-operative Enterprise Hub has already provided advice to one community-owned pub, The George & Dragon in Hudswell, and to several community-owned shops including The Green Valley Grocer and Busy Bee Toy Shop.