When the locals buy the local...

There can be few sadder sights in the on-trade than a once-cherished traditional village pub being allowed to decline, wither and then close its doors for good.

Increasingly, however, local communities are rallying round to save pubs from a slow, lingering demise and in many cases, demolition.

One such group are the inhabitants of the village of Mersham, near Ashford in Kent, currently celebrating the first year of owning the Farriers Arms, a grade II-listed pub dating back to the 17th century.

Different picture

Now a thriving food-led pub with its own microbrewery due to come on line in the next month or so, a year and a half ago the picture was very different, says David James, long-time Mersham resident, former banker and now company secretary of the limited company that bought, refurbished and now runs the establishment.

The Punch Taverns-owned site had once been a "great pub", he says, but had been "going downhill" under various operators for a number of years.

In late 2008 matters came to a head when the sitting tenant "did a runner", leaving the pub shut.

Despite the village having another pub, local businessman Richard Bishop approached a few people to see if anyone was interested in jointly buying the Farriers from Punch, who eventually said it was available.

Nearly 100 villagers formed an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and raised not only the £430,000 Punch was asking for the pub, its outbuildings and five and a half acres of adjoining land, but a further £237,000 which was spent on refurbishing it once the deal was done.

"The pub needed a lot of work as it was derelict when we took it over," says James. "The previous tenant had taken all the kitchen equipment, and the floors and the electrics had to be completely replaced. We dismantled and reconfigured the bar too."

Many of the 93 original shareholders pitched in to help during the renovation, which saved a bit of cash, James adds. The villagers found the council "very supportive", with its only objection being to plans to build its restaurant area against a protected wall.

After five months of sweat and toil, plus new floors, a new kitchen and a restaurant, the pub finally re-opened in November last year, staffed by five permanent employees as well as part-time bar help.

House next door

But that wasn't the end of the villagers' plans. Earlier this year a house next door to the pub came onto the market and the Farrier's chef expressed an interest in living in it.

With the added incentive of being able to extend the house's garden into that of the pub's in mind, the house was bought for £170,000, the deal being funded by a second EIS which had raised £247,000 from new and existing shareholders.

And the latest development this summer will see the opening of the Farriers' microbrewery, bought secondhand for £5,000 and installed into one of the pub's outbuildings, funded partly through a grant from the South East England Development Agency. With a view to serving its own beer James says a couple of the shareholders are currently training to become brewers.

Making its own beer will only add to the pub's allure, he believes.

"The pub has been gaining in popularity over the past few months and we've been quite active in publicising what we have been doing over the past year and a half," he says.

"We get a lot of people coming to the pub from a fair distance, as well as the local contingent."

But does having so many locals owning a slice of the pub cause problems?

"Local shareholders just want the pub to be a great place to visit and to trade profitably. They don't come in and shout about the fact they own a bit of the pub and demand to be served first," James explains.

With the capital expenditure pretty much completed the task of the pub's manager, Sam White, is to "get on with it", says James.

"Hopefully in the second year of trading the investors will see a dividend.

Up to now they've been comfortable knowing they can get 20 per cent tax relief on their investment as per the rules governing EISs," he says.

So what should those living in a village with a run-down pub need to be mindful of if they are considering taking on the sort of challenge that has kept the inhabitants of Mersham busy for the last 18 months?

"Commitment," says James. "People have got to be totally committed to this sort of project, all the way through the process. And have an idea of what you want your pub to be and stick to that."

With the trend in pub closures unlikely to abate any time soon, such local ownership schemes look like they're here to stay.