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https://www.positive.news/society/the-colourful-rise-of-community-owned-local-pubs/>
"In a remote part of the west Highlands of Scotland, a pub sits on the shore of
the Knoydart peninsula. With views over the blue waters of Loch Nevis and the
surrounding hilly, lush landscapes, The Old Forge is the beating heart of the
village of Inverie, a close-knit community with around 120 full-time residents.
So remote is this pub, that if you live outside of the village, it’s only
accessible by a 30-minute ferry from the nearest port, or – for the more
hardcore – a two-day hike.
But this isn’t the only unusual thing about this local watering hole. Since
March 2022, The Old Forge has been a community-owned pub. Exactly what it
sounds like, a community pub is owned and run by locals, who all have an equal
say in how the business is run.
After finding out that The Old Forge was going up for sale in January 2021,
locals discussed buying it under community ownership. They decided to go for it
and, after months of hard work, they opened in April 2022. “We live in a small
community with not a lot of places to go, so the pub is an important place for
people to come together,” says the pub’s business development manager Stephanie
Harris. And as for the views? “It’s probably one of the best pub beer garden
views. The landscape is all around you.”
While The Old Forge is certainly unique in some ways, it’s also part of a
swelling trend when it comes to community-owned pubs. According to the Plunkett
Foundation, a charity that helps people set up community-owned businesses,
there are 174 community-owned pubs in the UK, as of January 2024. Research from
trade body Co-Operatives UK found that the number of community-owned pubs in
the UK has increased by 62.6% over the last five years. This comes at a time
when pubs are increasingly under threat – following the struggles of the
pandemic they are facing rising energy costs and inflation. In 2023, 509 pubs
closed down, and the UK has lost 6% of its pubs in the last six years,
according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
While times are tough for pubs, community pubs seem to be thriving: data from
The Plunkett Foundation indicates that they have a 99% success rate."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
