Community Planning: Case studies: 012
Hudswell Community Pub
intro
Theme
Community enterprise
Community enterprise
Location
Hudswell, Swaledale, Yorkshire, UK
Hudswell, Swaledale, Yorkshire, UK
Project leader:
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd (HCP)
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd (HCP)
The George & Dragon was the only pub in an isolated village which had no shop or other community facilities apart from a village hall. Its closure was a major blow to the village. Yet, thanks to the imagination and innovation of villagers, it was reopened as a community enterprise, also incorporating a mini-library, a small village shop and allotments. The business model is fairly risk free and can be applied to many different kinds of community facilities.
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The Process
key to colour coding
| Intense community planning activity Events, workshops, meetings, open house events, exhibitions. |
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| Moderate community planning activity Surveys, consultation periods. |
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| Low level community planning activity Preparation, revising documents, survey analysis, design work |
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| Key points in community planning process Formation of organizations or partnerships, launch of initiatives, project completion. |
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| Other relevant events and activities Local election, local plan adoption, tendering. |
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| Nothing much happening Waiting, breathing spaces |
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2008
Aug
Last orders at the bar
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The George & Dragon, the only pub in Hudswell, closes when its owners go bankrupt. The building is stripped of its fittings and put on the market.
2009
Jan
Local stirrings
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A few former pub regulars start discussing possibility of creating some kind of consortium to buy it.
Apr
Training
- A local resident attends course on community shares.
May
June Steering Group
June Steering Group
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Small group of seven meets several times to develop proposal to buy the pub, financed by a community share issue.
Jul
Public meeting
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Attended by 45 people in village hall. Enthusiastic support for proposal.
Aug
Dec Development work
Dec Development work
- Formal offer to purchase property (accepted 30 October)
- Prospectus drafted to secure pledges of support.
- Registration as an Industrial and Provident Society for Community Benefit.
- Grant applications.
- Publicity.
Dec
Prospectus launched
2010
Jan
Fundraising
- HCP raises funds from investors and grant aid.
Feb
Building purchased
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HCP buys the George & Dragon plus an acre of associated land.
Mar
Refurbishment
- Pub refurbished by local builders and craftsmen with help from many volunteers. Tenants appointed to run the pub.
Jun
Pub reopens
- The George & Dragon re-opens as a community run pub. Launch event attended by local MP and HCP member, Foreign Secretary, William Hague.
Dec
Shop opens
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The Little Shop opens for business.
context
Context
Hudswell is a picturesque village in the Swale valley in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. But it lacked amenities, with no local shop, post office or any social facilities apart from a village hall and a pub called the 'George & Dragon'. When the pub closed, due to its owners going bankrupt, Hudswell lost the main hub of village social life.
The number of pubs operating in the UK fell from 58,600 in 2005 to 52,500 at the beginning of 2010. This is due to a number of factors including general economic conditions, property speculation, changing social customs and a smoking ban. But closures can have a negative affect on community life, especially in rural areas.
The George & Dragon in Hudswell was put on the market, but no buyers came forward. So, a group of villagers decided to take matters into their own hands. They formed a community enterprise company to buy the property, re-open the pub and run it for the benefit of the village.
outcomes
Outcomes - Successes
- The community run George & Dragon pub has become a real success, with sales figures 50% higher than predicted in the first year.
- The pub has become a vibrant hub for the local community and also for the many tourists and walkers that visit. It hosts a wide range of community events: live music, a book club, a folk club, a Halloween scarecrow competition and much more.
- The pub has 10 allotments, rented to local people. It also hosts a small library, with books provided by North Yorkshire Library Service, free internet access for customers and laptops to hire for a small fee.
- A 'Little Shop' has been created in a small room in the pub but with its own street access. It is thought to be the smallest community shop in the country and sells bread, milk, eggs, vegetables and other groceries.
- Future plans include creating a Bed & Breakfast facility and developing unused land on the site.
- HCP’s Annual Report 2011 states: “With the shop, allotments, library and internet access we feel that we have created a hub of services that make the George & Dragon a real centre of village activity and we have helped to create a more cohesive and friendly community in the village. It is clear that there are now far more people involved in village life and we all feel part of a caring and supportive community.”
Outcomes - Lessons
- A Co-operative is a good model for funding and running local services.
- Communities can do a lot if they have access to fairly minimal but crucial professional advice and assistance at the right time.
outcomes
Parties involved
Co-operative and Mutual Solutions
Funding advisors
www.cms.coop
Locality (formerly Development Trusts Association)
Funding, support and advice
www.locality.org.uk
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Bought and runs George & Dragon
www.richmond.org/community/hudswellpub/
Key Fund Yorkshire
Funding
www.thekeyfund.co.uk
Muckle LLP
Legal advisors
www.muckle-llp.com
Old Crown pub, Hesket Newmarket, Cumbria
Mentor
www.theoldcrownpub.co.uk
Jackie and Margaret Stubbs
Tenant Landlords
Sydney Phillips and Company
Property advisors
www.sidneyphillips.co.uk
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Funding and resources
- HCP sold shares in the pub for £1 each, with a minimum buy of 500 shares and a maximum of 20,000. They found 160 investors, mostly Hudswell residents, and raised £240,000.
- In addition, they secured £50,000 from Rural Access to Opportunities Programme, the Key Fund invested £20,000 in HCP Ltd shares and Locality gave a grant of £5,000 through its Cultivating Enterprise programme.
- The Little Shop secured a £5,000 grant from Awards for All and £4,600 from the York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation. The shop is staffed by a rota of 20 volunteers from the village.
- Property purchase £210,000
- Refurbishment of the pub £30,000
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Support
Assistance from Locality (formerly Development Trusts Association) consisted of:
- A £5,000 grant from Locality’s Cultivating Enterprise programme;
- Advice and support around the share issue prospect and general membership recruitment;
- Sign posting to Leader funding/Key fund;
- Encouraging the group to see the potential for creating a rural community anchor and development trust, not just keeping a pub open.
photo gallery
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Seeking investors
Launching the Prospectus outside the pub, 28 December 2009
Hudswell02.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Money raised
Packed meeting of members in the village hall receives the news that sufficient funds have been raised to buy the pub, 2009
Hudswell03.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Refurbishment
Volunteer coordinator marking off jobs done at a working party weekend, 2009
Hudswell05.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Board meeting
Directors on the pub patio prior to its reopening, 2010
Hudswell06.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Launch
Members chatting at the opening event, 2010
Hudswell07.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Launch
Foreign Secretary, local MP and HCP member, William Hague declares the pub open for business by cutting a George & Dragon cake, 2010
Hudswell08.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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The shop
Hanging sign over separate entrance, 2010
Hudswell10.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Growing food
Allotments created to the rear of the pub, 2010
Hudswell12.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Hudswell Community Pub In sequence
Seeking investors
Launching the Prospectus outside the pub, 28 December 2009
Hudswell02.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Launching the Prospectus outside the pub, 28 December 2009
Hudswell02.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Money raised
Packed meeting of members in the village hall receives the news that sufficient funds have been raised to buy the pub, 2009
Hudswell03.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Packed meeting of members in the village hall receives the news that sufficient funds have been raised to buy the pub, 2009
Hudswell03.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Refurbishment
Volunteer coordinator marking off jobs done at a working party weekend, 2009
Hudswell05.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Volunteer coordinator marking off jobs done at a working party weekend, 2009
Hudswell05.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Board meeting
Directors on the pub patio prior to its reopening, 2010
Hudswell06.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Directors on the pub patio prior to its reopening, 2010
Hudswell06.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Launch
Members chatting at the opening event, 2010
Hudswell07.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Members chatting at the opening event, 2010
Hudswell07.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Launch
Foreign Secretary, local MP and HCP member, William Hague declares the pub open for business by cutting a George & Dragon cake, 2010
Hudswell08.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Foreign Secretary, local MP and HCP member, William Hague declares the pub open for business by cutting a George & Dragon cake, 2010
Hudswell08.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
The shop
Hanging sign over separate entrance, 2010
Hudswell10.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Hanging sign over separate entrance, 2010
Hudswell10.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Growing food
Allotments created to the rear of the pub, 2010
Hudswell12.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Allotments created to the rear of the pub, 2010
Hudswell12.jpg
© Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
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Documents available. Please click on the image or information below it to download and display pdfs
download pdf -
20 pages A4 2.3 MB
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Annual Report,
December 2009 – January 2011
download pdf -
25 pages A4 2.1 MB
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd
Prospectus 2010
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Quotes
"We have shown what a community can achieve when its spirit and effort is harnessed and thanks goes out to all of you who have helped in any way to make our community pub the success it is today."Paul Cullen, Chair, HCP Ltd., 2011
"The pub was a casualty of the credit crunch. The last landlord bought it when property prices were at their highest. When business declined as a result of the recession they couldn't make the mortgage repayments. The co-op won't have that problem because we haven't borrowed any money."Martin Booth, a director of HCP Ltd, 2010
"It is fantastic to know the pub is now open and so far, business has been good. The risk in this buy-to-let model is fairly minimal, with the community organisation receiving a fixed income every month from the tenants, and ensuring local repeat clientele from the proud owners of the pub. The directors also have further plans to diversify their income streams, and attract more visitors to their pub, which should ensure its sustainability."Sophie Michelena, Development Officer for Locality in Yorkshire & Humber, 2011
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Reviews
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Contacts
Hudswell Community Pub web page
www.richmond.org/community/page.php?groupId=37
Sophie Michelena,
Development Officer for Locality in Yorkshire & Humber
sophie.michelena@locality.org.uk
Thanks: Hudswell Community Pub Ltd.
Editing by Jo Shardwell, Locality.
This case study funded by Building Community.
Editing by Jo Shardwell, Locality.
This case study funded by Building Community.
