North Herefordshire village pub in sight of being saved

Locals are optimistic they can bring a much-loved Herefordshire village pub back into community use.

The Lamb Inn, the only pub in Stoke Prior near Leominster, closed to customers in 2018, though it still operates AirBnB lets. A planning application to enable it to become a house has yet to be decided on.

But a recent village meeting to discuss buying it and turning it into a community venue drew over 40 people, according to village resident Mike Wyldes, who now chairs a new local body to drive the move forward.

“The pub has deep roots in the village, and there was an overwhelming feeling they didn’t want it to become a house,” he said.

The group is working with community support charity the Plunkett Foundation to set up a community benefit society, before issuing shares between May and July – which needn’t just be to locals.

“That will be the test,” Mr Wyldes said. “Then in August we will decide if we have enough to buy and refurbish the inn.”

A recent valuation as a pub puts its value at £350,000 as recent work “has increased its value”, he added. This is still only a little over half the advertised sale price for its residential use, of £630,000.

The group is also seeking to have the property registered as an “asset of community value”, which would prevent its sale for six months while the community attempts to fund its purchase.

He added: “There are also other skills within the village – legal, financial, project management – that we hope to draw on as we move this forward.”

But however much the goodwill, the inn will still have to wash its face, so the choice of tenant to run it will be key.

“The environment for country pubs is difficult. But Plunkett have supported 230 such pubs of which just one has failed,” Mr Wyldes said – pointing to the community-owned Bell at Yarpole and the parish council-owned Crown Inn at Dilwyn as positive local role models.

Relying solely on wet sales “won’t generate enough turnover”, he added – hence plans to increase en-suite provision with the rented rooms.

“With its restaurant and lettings, which feed each other, the inn’s chances of success are high,” he concluded.

“It’s just a question of getting there.”