The owner of the Henry Jenkins has put in yet another application to try to convert the Henry Jenkins into houses.
The village centre Henry Jenkins has stood the test of time for hundreds of years and the local community are supporting its purchase as a community owned Pub and Hub that would be able to be of huge benefit to the Kirkby Malzeard and surround communities for hundreds of years to come.
To object to this latest planning application, you will first need to be registered with Harrogate Borough Council.
(You just need to enter your address and email so they can confirm you live in the HBC area.)
Click here to register your name
Once you have registered, then you can go to the planning application and register your objections
Click here to go to the planning application and leave your comments
(Click on the “Comments” tab, and then “Make a Comment”)
Below are some points you may wish to consider when making your comments.
- The Henry Jenkins has been at the heart of the village for more than 250 years and is an intrinsic part of Kirkby’s history, character and culture. If we allow it to go, it will be gone forever
- HJCP has already raised more than £230K in community share purchases. With HBC’s support we – like another community pub project in a very similar situation to ours – could qualify for another £250k from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund.
- The case for having a community-owned pub and restaurant in Kirkby has become even stronger because of greater appreciation of the importance of community facilities in the wake of the pandemic. Having a nice place where villagers can meet up, eat, drink and socialise promotes friendship, new clubs and societies and helps combat social isolation.
- The village is expanding fast, more people are working from home and the need for a wider range of facilities is greater than ever.
- The Queens is an important part of our community, but a second pub would offer residents choice, draw in visitors, participate in events that benefit all local businesses and share the cost and organisation of village celebrations. There is room for two different pubs, and a community pub would benefit all other hospitality venues because the community pub’s whole aim is to benefit the community.
- Community pubs are owned by local people, run for local people and all profits come back to the community. More and more of them are being set up and not a single one has failed.
- Having a second pub and restaurant would create jobs and help local businesses – including the Queens – by attracting more visitors to the village. There is increasing demand for more facilities from walkers and cyclists.
- A community pub could also provide other facilities such as a coffee shop and bakery linked to the village shop, a micro-library, a conference room with LCD display screens for local business people.
- The only reason the pub has stood empty for so long is the owner’s intransigence. He’s failed to properly market it as a pub, allowed it to fall into disrepair and refused repeated offers by prospective purchasers wanting to bring it back as a pub. He’s attempted to further undermine the pub’s viability by selling off part of the pub to his business associate.
- This stalemate could be resolved by HBC through the issue of a compulsory purchase order for the entire pub. Councils have powers to do this where community facilities are under threat.
- It is HBC policy (Policy HP8) to protect pubs in rural areas unless there is no reasonable prospect of them continuing. In this case there is every prospect of it continuing. We have nearly 200 members who’ve promised to buy shares – we just need HBC’s help to stop a private developer depriving of us of something that would benefit the whole village and bring people closer together.
With your help we can keep the dream alive of a revitalised Henry Jenkins owned by the community for the community!
Thank you for your continued support.