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A group of Save the Henry Jenkins campaign supporters recently completed a fact-finding tour of two local community-owned pubs – the award-winning George & Dragon at Hudswell, near Richmond, and the equally impressive Foresters Arms at Carlton-in-Coverdale .

Both pubs were in danger of closing down for good. Both have been saved and refurbished as thriving community pubs.

The George & Dragon, Hudswell

In 2008 the George & Dragon was closed and repossessed by the bank – and it looked like the village could lose its only pub … so a small group of volunteers set about exploring the idea of a community buyout. Some in the village said it wouldn’t work but a committee was formed and in a short time they raised enough capital to buy and renovate the pub and letting rooms – almost all through the issue of community shares. The pub reopened in 2010. It is run as a business by the landlord, who pays a commercial rent to the Hudswell Community Pub co-operative. The pub has a public and lounge bar, a library, community allotments and a beer garden with a fabulous view over the Swale Valley. As it is not tied to a brewery or a pub company, the landlord does not have to pay a premium price for beer or spirits and he can sell whatever he wants … so it’s no surprise that there is an excellent selection of five different kinds of local real ale. There is also delicious home cooked food, with specials displayed on a blackboard at the bar. The George & Dragon, which also incorporates a volunteer-run village shop, was recently named CAMRA Pub of the Year 2016.

Local people commented that since the pub reopened it has “changed the whole atmosphere of the village,” with a marked increase in people going out and socialising. It’s also been noticeable that people with a share in the pub – more than half of whom live in the immediate local area – have a keen interest in patronising “their” pub – and are proud to show it off to visiting friends and family.

Shareholders are paid an annual dividend of 1.5 – 3%. This is funded from around half the rent paid by the tenant; the remainder goes into co-operative funds for maintenance/ future improvements. There is now a waiting list for people wanting to buy shares!

The Foresters Arms, Carlton-in-Coverdale

The Foresters Arms is a 17th century pub with accommodation in beautiful Coverdale. But, in common with many country pubs at the time, it was not thriving and in early 2011 the owners cut their losses, closed the pub and moved out. Fearing their local could be lost forever, residents called a public meeting of all interested parties within the dale and beyond and many expressed a determination to pursue the idea of a community buyout.

A co-operative was formed, a target set for the purchase and refurbishment of the pub and people asked to make pledges for the purchase of community shares. Organisers were delighted by the rapid response and the sale went ahead. Refurbishment work began in August and the first tenants were appointed shortly afterwards. The Foresters reopened for liquid sales on Christmas Eve 2011 – just eleven months after the pub’s closure.

When the party from Kirkby visited the Foresters on a Wednesday night, the car park was full and it was heaving inside. There was a great atmosphere with a steady flow of orders from the dining room, while the main bar and snug were full of locals. Described on its website as “a quintessentially English country pub offering a warm welcome, good food and serving local beer,” it even serves a “Foresters ale” brewed by a local microbrewery.

As with the George & Dragon, the Foresters has many regular customers from well outside the village and among the 300 plus shareholders there is a sense of pride in what they like to think of as “their” pub. The tenants, Keith and Lesley, were very hospitable and Keith reported that running a community-owned pub was far preferable to working for a pub company.

The Save the Henry Jenkins Group is launching a investigation into the Community Ownership option for the Henry Jenkins.

The growing number of successful community owned Pubs (over 50) and community owned village shops (over 300) in the UK , show the viability of the community ownership option.
There is also specific government and social enterprise assistance now available for launching community share ownership of Pubs.

In order to see the viability and practicality of this option for the Henry Jenkins, we are undertaking an investigation into this option.

It is specifically for The Henry Jenkins, but research will also be into its use for other Pubs and community properties in the area.

Research will be in 2 phases, the first phase is Research and information gathering and the second phase is a more detailed report on the idea.

Research would be in 2 main areas;
Firstly, the structure, funding and practical aspects of the community Pub ownership option and how it could apply to The Henry Jenkins and other Pubs and community services in the area..

Secondly, an extension of the community ownership model to a “Community Hub”where a wider range of services is put under the Pub roof.
Again, specifically aimed at The Henry Jenkins, but also examining how it would apply to other Pubs and community services in the area.

The research will be put online on the Henry Jenkins Website to be available publicly. (Any personal research will be anonymous and collated for general results unless otherwise agreed.).

We aim to collate all effects of the community Pub idea, both good and bad, to fully examine this option.

If you are interested in helping in this research, or have input (both good and bad), please contact us on community@thehenryjenkins.com

Kevin Ison
Save the Henry Jenkins Group

The case of the Henry Jenkins – and Harrogate Borough Council’s decision not to protect it as an Asset of Community Value – was the subject of a major investigation in Saturday’s Yorkshire Post.

Under the front page splash headline “Communities being stripped of assets…” the paper reports that up to three quarters of bids to protect community assets under the Government’s Big Society have been rejected outright.

On an inside page a league table is published of local authorities in the region – and Harrogate comes out close to bottom, approving only 24 per cent of ACV nominations. As well as the Henry Jenkins, the Crown at Grewelthorpe was also recently refused protection. By comparison, Richmondshire and Barnsley have approved 100% of ACV nominatins, with other councils not far behind: Hambleton (94%), Scarborough (83%), York (82%), Rotherham (82%) and Leeds (81%).

Under the heading “Our pub is the beating heart of our village,” the decision to refuse the Henry Jenkins an ACV listing is reported in detail – alongside a picture of villagers protesting outside the pub.

Richard Sadler, of the Save the Henry Jenkins group  is quoted as saying: “It can’t be right that a 250-year-old pub that has been so important to this village of Kirkby Malzeard is not listed when the legislation has been set up for exactly this purpose.”

The example is also given of Otley – where all but one of the town’s 20 pubs has been listed as an ACV by Leeds City Council. However one pub has a Harrogate post code  and so comes under Harrogate’s jurisdiction – and this pub has been refused ACV protection.

The “postcode lottery” over the fate of much-valued local pubs is condemned by Leeds MP Greg Mulholland, chair of the Parliamentary Save the Pub group.

He said many pubs were still being lost despite the powers given to councils by the Government to protect them.

“In some cases they are clearly not following the national guidance and are turning down bids quite wrongly denying local people any say in the future of these local assets,” he said.

Paul Ainsworth, chair of Camra’s pubs campaign group, added that the administrative burden on councils meant it was easier to refuse an application than deal with the paperwork.

“This has led some councils to ‘gold-plate’ requirements so that it is virtually impossible for some communities to protect their local – simply because of where they live,” he said.

The system for nominating pubs and other facilities as Assets of Community Value was introduced under the Localism Act by David Cameron to allow local communities greater authority in protecting community assets.

Once a pub is listed as an ACV, this gives it greater protection against it being demolished or turned into shops or offices. It also allows time for a community buyout, an increasingly popular option in rural villages and one now being considered for the Henry Jenkins.

Last month Harrogate Borough Council’s Planning Committee – which does not deal with ACV nominations – refused plans for the demolition of the Henry Jenkins after receiving 90 objections and a 150-signature petition.

The application was rejected on the grounds that “the proposal would result in the loss of a community facility (public house) thereby reducing the variety of locally based community facilities to the detriment of meeting present and future social needs and aspirations of this rural community.”

However David Fielder is now trying to exploit a loophole in planning laws which could allow him to bypass this decision by rebranding the Henry Jenkins as “offices.”

The Save the Henry Jenkins group is planning to submit a new nominaton for the pub to be listed as an ACV.

• Read the Yorkshire Post front page story here and inside page story here.