A hub for the village: how locals are buying up pubs at risk of closure

theguardian.com:

A final lick of paint is drying on the donated, mismatched chairs and tables as the handful of volunteers gratefully sample the new chef’s signature dish – a chunky pork chop sandwich with apple relish.

Four years after the Blue Bell in Stoke Ferry, Norfolk, last called time, it will next month celebrate its grand reopening as a community pub, the triumphant climax of a campaign by local residents to stave off the permanent closure of the last pub in the village, which once boasted eight.

It is also one of a growing number of successful community buyouts that, according to Camra (Campaign for Real Ale), have been a major factor in helping to slow the pace of pub disappearances in the UK.

Pubs have been in decline for years, but the pandemic wreaked further havoc and, according to the British Beer and Pub Association, 2,000 permanently closed during the first year of lockdown. Many, like the Blue Bell, were in rural locations, leaving small communities without a space to meet, prompting greater isolation.

The rise of community pubs, however, has helped to buck this trend. There are now more than 70 active community ownership campaigns currently under way on top of 179 existing pubs owned or run by their communities, according to Camra.

Their community focus also means that they typically offer additional services, from full-scale post offices that maintain access to essential postal and basic banking services, to shops, cafes and meals on wheels – all supporting local suppliers and employment.

“The last few years of restrictions and closures have made us all realise just how vital our local pubs are to communities up and down the country – and how important they are to bringing people together as we recover from the pandemic,”