Shropshire village pledges £90,000 to save 250-year-old pub

03-Nov-2017 - Last updated on 03-Nov-2017 at 17:01 GMT

More than a pub: the White Lion is a focal point for the local community

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Residents from the Ash Villages area near Whitchurch, north Shropshire, are hoping to buy the White Lion pub to keep it from closing its doors.

Residents of a Shropshire village near Whitchurch, have raised £90,000 in pledges to save the Ash Magna's White Lion Pub within a fortnight of a public meeting organised by a steering committee with no prior experience in the pub trade.

The committee – headed by Judith Griffin – felt compelled to act to save its pub in August after landlords stated their intention to close its doors and retire at the end of the year. The pub had been on the market for four years.

Speaking to The Morning Advertiser, Griffin said: “We sent round a questionnaire. We posted it through every letter box in the villages and surrounding areas, and left them in the pub. We sent out just under 200 and we got over 60 responses.

Every single response said that having a pub in the village was very important and there were offers of help and support ranging from help with funding to refurbishment or other specialist skills.”

Imminent share issue

Having contacted the Plunkett Foundation, the foundation behind More Than A Pub, a community pub business support programme, Griffin and the committee had the pub valued and had an offer accepted – subject to being able to raise funds.

After more than 50 attendees of the public meeting on 26 October pledged an overall total of £90,000, a share issue will be issued on 1 December – closing at the end of the year – in the hope of raising funds to buy the pub and keep its doors open.

Griffin explained: “The shares will range in value – the lowest value will be £250 and the top value will be £25,000. We want to get as many people to buy shares. We don't just want half a dozen people pledging £25,000, the main thing is - because it's a community pub – to get as many people buying shares as possible. But it's one share, one shareholder, one vote.”

Should everything run according to plan, it’s hoped the White Lion will be under community ownership by April or May next year. Griffin added: “We want to be in the position by the end of this calendar year to say we’ve raised the money and here's our offer.”

Great ideas for the pub

The long-term hope is that the pub will decide whether to go down the landlord or tenant route after purchasing, and will continue to be a focal point of the local community. “As well as being a great drinking place, we have a book club, a bridge club, and lots of events.

“It's limited-only hours at the moment so we're keen to maybe set up coffee mornings for young families. Maybe some subsidised lunches for the elderly and disabled in the villages. We’ve got great ideas for the pub.”

Current landlady Margarete Bentley said: “If all goes well, it should be sold at the beginning of next year.” She added that she and the steering committee worked very closely together and that the White Lion would remain a pub if everything goes to plan.

For more information on the how to contribute to the fundraising effort, keep an eye on the White Lion's community group here.