A PUB in North Shropshire, which closed last year, is set to re-open this December with the help of its local ladies’ coffee group.  

The Horse and Jockey in Northwood, near Ellesmere, closed in September 2022 and since then residents have done everything in their power to bring it back.

Louise Paton has been part of a ladies’ coffee group since she moved to the town with her family in 2016, and when she saw the pub shut, she brought it up to discussion with the other members.

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Louise explained: “We try to meet up every month and when the pub shut, I organised a lunch with the members and we got to chatting about it.

“I already heard about the community pubs because I have a friend who was successful in purchasing her pub near Manchester.

“So, I talked to her about the process and then told the ladies in the coffee group.”

The crew didn’t know if they could do it, but they knew they only had two options: let it stay closed or take their chances and trying to get more local people involved in re-opening.

“It went from ladies having a chat around lunch to quickly setting up a community meeting”, she added.

The first meeting took place at The Dickin Arms in Loppington where a lot of people showed up to express their support and ask questions.

After more meetings, together with all the other residents, it was decided to take it to the next step, so they got an ACV (Asset of Community Value) put on to the pub to prove it is in the community’s interest to keep it open.

“That was really the green light for us to be able to set up the whole campaign” Louise said, “We then created Community Benefit Society and we started fundraising and raising community shares.”

The community was then able to obtain a Government Levelling up Grant of over £240,000.

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The Horse and Jockey Community Pub Limited (community benefit society) allows its members to keep it open in the interest of the residents in the area.

The pub has now over 80 shareholders, and Louise explained that they all get a say and a vote in what happens to the pub.

“We are now waiting for the release of the fund”, she said “It will allow us to complete the change over, and we hope that will happen by the end of the month.”

After the grant kicks in the group hopes to re-open the doors to the pub in December just in time for Christmas.