VILLAGERS in Drayton are rallying support for plans to buy their local pub after the brewery which owns it put it up for sale.
A crowd of 200 residents attended a meeting in the village hall last week to discuss clubbing together to raise funds to buy The Drayton Arms on Church Street.
Residents eager to prevent the pub from closing and protect the Grade 2 listed building from development into homes or offices plan to set up a community-run collective to buy the pub from national brewery chain Admiral Taverns.
If they are successful, the pub would then be owned by the community group, which would lease the property to professional tenants to run the business. The steering group behind the plans is now rallying support from anyone interested in backing the scheme by committing to buy shares worth £350.
Following last week’s meeting, around 170 shares have been allocated to residents who have pledged to pay the money towards the pub’s £295,000 price tag.
But Drayton resident Louise Lee, who is on the steering group, said more pledges are needed to get the plans off the ground.
She said: “We held the meeting to gauge public support for the plans. Luckily we had prepared for a big crowd and were full beyond capacity in the hall, so that some had to sit outside in the overspill area. The support was unanimous and we had significant pledges on the night.
“After talking to a number of interested parties after the meeting, we are confident that further significant pledges will follow. But time is of the essence, and we have asked for pledges to reach us within the next seven to ten days.
“At which point we will know whether this proposal has legs, and if we can take it to the next stage.”
On Saturday, the steering group, headed by chairman Nick Laurence, met with MP David Heath to discuss the project.
The group plans to form a collective known as an Industrial and Provident Society made up of shareholders, which would be the legal “owner” of the pub.
It is intended that the pub would then be registered on South Somerset District Council’s register of community assets, which would give the community six months to make an offer on the pub before it becomes available on the open market.
After purchase, the pub will be run by the tenants but the steering group behind the plans has already put thought into a business plan that would see the pub transformed into a social hub for the community.
An information leaflet outlining their intentions was handed out to residents at last week’s meeting.
It reads: “In recent years the pub has been in the ownership of Admiral Taverns, who have done little to maintain or improve it I have gone to them for comment on this but they ahve not got back to me yet.
“We now aim to obtain the freehold of the Drayton Arms, to ensure that it once again becomes a social hub for the village.”
Tenants will be interviewed to ensure they share the same community vision for the pub.