News / Pubs
Pub could be bought by its local community
The freehold of a popular pub could be purchased by its locals in order to secure its future for the community.
A meeting is taking place at the Lion in Cliftonwood on Thursday evening as a first step to setting up a community interest company (CIC) with the eventual aim being to buy the pub from its overseas owners.
The family who currently run the pub on Church Lane say that “bringing the pub into community ownership would make the business more viable on several counts”.
is needed now More than ever
The ambition of the CIC is for people to invest money into shares, meaning potentially hundreds of people having a stake in the pub which will then be run for the benefit of the Cliftonwood community.
The Lion, which has a regular quiz night, book club and art displays (just some examples why campaigners believe it should be made an asset of community value) is next door to a park known colloquially by locals as the Lion Park which hosts an annual outdoor cinema event in the summer.
At the crossroads where the pub is located, there used to be a post office and three pubs – with the Lion being the only one now remaining.
The Lion is the only pub in Cliftonwood and is currently run by Fiona Vincent and her family – photo: Betty Woolerton
David Gilroy, a Lion regular and part of the core project team behind the buy-out plans, told Bristol24/7 that he wants to encourage more use by local community groups if successful.
He said: “We feel that the pub will be better run as a community asset and opened up for more use than just food and drink.
“Also, the tied contract with the pub company who own it is pretty punchy in terms of the rent and the cost of beer in the ‘tie’ and that impacts the prices that consumers pay.”
Cliftonwood resident Gilroy added: “It’s my ‘local’. When I say to friends and neighbours, ‘Are you popping in to the pub this evening?’ no-one asks ‘Which pub?’. It’s the pub.
“But not only that, my wife can walk in on any evening by herself and always know someone else from the locality that she can talk to, no need to sit at the bar by herself.”
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Main photo: Martin Booth
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