Buy a share and help save village pub

Residents of a Pendle village have until the end of the month to raise enough money to save their popular local.
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If the people of Trawden and surrounding areas are successful in raising enough funds throughout May, and the purchase goes through, Trawden will be the only village in the UK with a community-run pub, shop, community centre and library.

And residents should be rightly proud of this achievement if they take the Trawden Arms into community ownership.

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When residents of Trawden learned their last remaining village pub was up for sale and there was a danger it could be sold for housing, the community came together to set up a steering group with a vision of bringing the pub into community ownership.

The Trawden ArmsThe Trawden Arms
The Trawden Arms

The Trawden Arms was listed as an Asset of Community Value in March 2020 and the community now has until the end of this month to raise enough money to buy the pub and keep it in community hands.

A Community Benefit Society has been formed which will effectively see the residents holding shares in the pub. There is a full prospectus and business plan available on the website and the scheme is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The steering group have had the support of the Plunkett Foundation, a registered charity aimed solely at saving last pubs/shops, but now it’s over to the public to buy their share in the pub and keep it operational for generations to come.

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If the venture is successful as planned, a tenant will be appointed to manage the business in line with shareholders ideas and values.

Dave Webber, chairman of the steering group said: “We want to keep the Trawden Arms as a pub for the community to enjoy for the long-term, but also to give residents a say in what they want from the pub.

“We want to build on the enormous success of the Community Centre, Library and Shop by making the Trawden Arms part of a new community hub, one that has the potential to deliver even more benefits to residents. We are urging anyone who can to buy a share now and save our pub.”

Molly Ralphson, Communications Officer and local resident added: “Having the village pub is really important to so many people.

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“The importance of social contact was brought home to us throughout lockdown and it would be such a shame to lose the pub and so lose a place to socialise, to eat and drink, and to celebrate special occasions with friends and family.

To provide further information to local residents, the steering group is holding a socially-distanced information day on Saturday.

Time slots are 2-30pm to 3-30pm and 4pm to 5pm.

The event is going to be in the pub car park if it's fine, but will move to the community centre in the event of bad weather.

It will provide an opportunity for people to find out a bit more and ask any questions to members of the steering group.

For a copy of the share prospectus, business plan and more information please visit www.trawdenarmsmorethanapub.com

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