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Henry Jenkins Community Co-op wins Government Funding

 

We are pleased to confirm that the Henry Jenkins Community Co-op (HJCC) has recently secured bursary funding to put together a bid to buy and refurbish the Henry Jenkins as a Community Hub.

The Plunkett Foundation, which represents a network of more than 500 community co-operatives across the UK, has approved initial funding of £2,500 under the Government-backed More than a Pub Business Support Programme.. This will pay for advice and support from experts with experience of setting up successful community enterprises. An independent Business Assessment has been commissioned and in the next few weeks a peer-to-peer study tour is being organised of successful co-operative pubs in North Yorkshire and Lancashire.

To qualify for funding evidence was provided of growing support in and around Kirkby Malzeard for a community buyout. Evidence was also submitted on the Business Case for regenerating the Henry Jenkins – taking into account existing services available in and around the village.

The HJCC, officially recognised as a prospective bidder by Harrogate Borough Council, is now eligible to apply for grants and loans of up to £100,000 under the £3.63m More than a Pub programme. The intention is to use the model followed by numerous other successful community enterprises, with capital raised primarily through the issue of community shares.

We are proposing the phased restoration and refurbishment of the Henry Jenkins as a Community Hub, built around a bar and a combined family bistro/ Italian-style coffee shop with b&b rooms upstairs. The Hub should have a strong community and social purpose and we plan additional services to benefit those who are socially isolated or excluded. For example, to appeal to elderly residents we are proposing a micro library, IT hub and book exchange and a comfortable waiting area for the Post Office van. Another suggestion is provision of a separate space away from the bar for parents with young children. At a later stage there may be options for other services of community benefit.  Popular ideas so far include and artisan bakery, a micro brewery, a sub post office, a retail outlet for local crafts people and a bunkhouse for walkers, cyclists and mountains bikers.

However, we are committed to engaging widely with the local community – and before any of these options are decided on we will be carrying out extensive consultation to find out what people actually want.

Following a long campaign to save the pub from demolition – including more than 90 letters of objection – the Henry Jenkins was listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in July. This means it has special status – and as an ACV it cannot be sold as anything other than as a public house. Plans by the current owner to demolish the pub and redevelop the site for housing were unanimously rejected by Harrogate Borough Council’s Planning Committee in February.

 

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HJ Community Co-op recognised as “Prospective Bidder”

We are pleased to report that the Henry Jenkins Community Co-op has been officially recognised by Harrogate Borough Council as a properly constituted body and a prospective bidder. This triggers a six-month moratorium to allow time for a community bid to be prepared for the historic Henry Jenkins pub. During this period the owner is not permitted to sell it to anyone else. 

We have also just been notified by the Plunkett Foundation –  the charity that distributes Government grants for community buyouts –  that we are eligible for fully-funded support.
With their help and advice we are now progressing plans to put together a  viable community bid for the purchase and refurbishment of the Henry Jenkins. Our first objective is to build further on our fast-expanding supporter base.
We are working with advisors on a fully-costed Business Plan, setting out how we propose to raise the necessary capital ( we have already had numerous informal pledges to buy community shares).

We have also begun planning for an Information Day in October, when we will be setting out our model for the the core business of a community-owned pub and restaurant with b&b.
We also plan to display an artist’s impression of how a revitalised Henry Jenkins might might look – and a vision of how it could become a vital asset to the area. Representatives from other successful community pubs are being invited to speak and answer questions.
We are also planning to provide refreshments and a variety of food and drink including locally made cakes. We may also have space for displays of local crafts.

 

Exciting Possibilities

Over the past few months we have learnt a great deal about the achievements of other community-owned pubs and shops – and the more we’ve learnt the more we’ve been inspired by the exciting possibilities for developing the Henry Jenkins as a community hub.

Community pubs are run in a variety of different ways but what they all have in common is that they are owned by local shareholders and all the profits are ploughed back into the community (and not syphoned off by a Pub Co or an absentee landlord). They also offer an opportunity for provision of non-core services often not seen in privately-owned pubs – for example, special provision for elderly residents and young people. Experiences suggests that once established,  community  pubs are very secure compared to privately owned pubs: There are more than 50 now operating and we haven’t heard of any that have failed.  

In the case of the Henry Jenkins, our vision is to provide services that enhance – rather than compete with – existing businesses, helping to boost the local economy through sustainable tourism while at the same time serving local needs and helping to bring people together.

Watch this space for further updates!

Interested in helping out?

We are looking for volunteers to help with plans for the Information Day – and to help out on the day.  If you’d like to help out, or if you would like any more information  about the Henry Jenkins Community Co-op, please email info@thehenryjenkins.com.

 

Save the Date! Henry Jenkins Community Co-op Open Day- Date to be set.

* Info on Community Enterprises
* Ideas for how revitalised Henry Jenkins might look
* Speakers from successful Community Pubs
* Refeshments

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Henry Jenkins listed as Asset of Community Value

The Henry Jenkins has FINALLY been listed as an Asset of Community Value by Harrogate Borough Council, following a sustained, high-profile campaign by the Save the Henry Jenkins group.

This is a very significant development – and a decision that we believe was the right one given the overwhelming evidence pointing to the value of the Henry Jenkins to the local community … and its future potential.

The decision means that this much-missed pub, which has been a hub of the community in Kirkby Malzeard for many generations, will have special status as a community asset for the next five years. This will make planning approval for change of use or redevelopment less likely. It also means that if the owner should decide to sell it, he must notify the council and allow time for a possible community buyout. In this event there would be a six-month moratorium to allow plans for a community bid to be put together – during which time the pub could not be sold to any one else. “Permitted Development Rights” – which would have allowed the status of the Henry Jenkins to be downgraded to “offices” under a loophole in planning law – have been removed.

Plans will now be progressed towards the idea of a community buyout, with the widest possible involvement of people in Kirkby Malzeard and surrounding parishes. Recently a fact-finding tour was organised of other successful community-owned pubs and momentum has been slowly building, with informal pledges already being made to buy community shares. One of the first objectives is to secure start-up funding from the Plunkett Foundation, a charity that distributes Government grant aid for community buyouts and offers practical advice. Later in the year a public meeting will be called to outline options for the possible future purchase, renovation and reopening of the Henry Jenkins.

There is still a long way to go before a pint of beer can once again be poured in the Henry Jenkins and nothing can be taken for granted. However today’s decision is an important milestone in the campaign to save this historic pub.

* THE Henry Jenkins was originally nominated as an ACV in December, 2016, but in March listing was refused by Harrogate Borough Council on the grounds that because the pub had been closed for a period of years, it had lost its connection with the local community.

A new nomination was submitted earlier this year with important new evidence including letters of support from ten community groups who used to use the Henry Jenkins – and would like to do so again. Evidence was also submitted from some of the 95 individuals who registered objections to the planning application for demolition/redevelopment (refused by the council on February 28th) . The Save the Henry Jenkins group has contacted senior councillors and council executives and enlisted the support of Harrogate & Ripon CAMRA, the Henry Jenkins Memorial Society, Skipton & Ripon MP, Julian Smith, and Kirkby Malzeard ward councillor, Margaret Atkinson. The council’s refusal of ACV listing – and the campaign to save the Henry Jenkins – has also attracted publicity on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio York, Stray FM, the Ripon Gazette, the Northern Echo and the Yorkshire Post, which reported in March that Harrogate had one of the worst records of any council in the region for approving ACV nominations.

The council’s official letter confirming the listing of the Henry Jenkins as an ACV under the 2011 Localism Act states “there is a time in the recent past when an actual use of the building … furthered the social well-being or social interests of the local community” and “it is realistic to think there is a time in the next five years when there could be … use of the building .. that would further social well-being or social interests.”

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Parish Council to reconsider stance over future of Henry Jenkins

Kirkby Malzeard Parish Council has agreed to reconsider its response to the nomination of the Henry Jenkins as an Asset of Community Value, following pressure from parishioners.

The Parish Council, which in February supported the unsuccessful planning application for the pub’s demolition, drew up its draft response to the latest ACV nomination last week. This argued that the prevailing view in the village was that while many felt the building should be saved, the Henry Jenkins should not be reopened as a pub.

However at a packed parish council meeting in the Mechanics – attended by 40 members of the public – speaker after speaker demanded that the parish council reconsider. A snap poll was taken of people in attendance and all but one said the ACV nomination should be supported. Parish council members then voted to defer their decision on what stance they should take.

A great deal now rides on the success or otherwise of the latest Asset of Community Value nomination – and the Parish Council’s eventual response could be a deciding factor. If the ACV is refused, the owner of the Henry Jenkins may be able to exploit an anomaly in planning regulations called “Permitted Development Rights.” This has allowed developers to change the use of pubs to offices or shops – without the need for planning permission – leading to the loss of scores of pubs up and down the country. Following widespread criticism, this loophole was closed on May 23rd when a change in the law removed Permitted Development Rights for pubs. However it appears that in this case because Mr Fielder had already notified the council of his intention to change the use of the Henry Jenkins to “offices,” he may still be able to take advantage of Permitted Development Rights.

This raises the prospect of the Henry Jenkins becoming the last pub in England to be lost through exploitation of a widely discredited legal anomaly! However if the Asset of Community Value nomination is successful, Permitted Development Rights will immediately be removed.

A decision from Harrogate Borough Council is expected later this month.

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