Community's plans to buy their local pub

Residents in Leasingham are developing plans to buy the village’s only pub, The Duke of Wellington, after it went on sale last year.

Villagers David Warner and wife Karen held an open meeting last month to publicly moot the idea and found strong support for it among the community.

The plan is to create a Community Benefit Society, an organisation which takes on a business, industry, or trade for the benefit of the community, for the pub, and a working group has now been set up to take matters forward.

Mr Warner, who is part of that working group, said: “We have got the opportunity now of saving the Duke of Wellington as an asset for the village.”

The pub is currently covered by an Asset of Community Value, meaning it is temporarily protected against a change of use or demolition.

Mr Warner said by raising enough money to buy the pub (offers are currently being accepted in the region of £295,000) residents can ‘safeguard the building for the future of the village’.

The next step, he said, is to send out a questionnaire among villagers to gauge what type of pub they would want.

Anyone wanting more information about the project should email newdow2018@gmail.com

A spokesman for the pub’s owners Ei Publican Partnerships said: “After careful consideration, we took the decision to sell the freehold of The Duke Of Wellington, Leasingham.”

They added: “We would be very happy to discuss the sale of the pub to the group or any other party interested in purchasing the property for continued use as a public house.

“To discuss further, please contact our agent Jon Heald, at Everard Cole, on 0115 824 6442.”