There has been a fantastic response to the questionnaire, with 74% of Grimston, Saxelbye & Shoby parish householders returning completed surveys, along with many also from Ab Kettleby, Wartnaby and Holwell. 91% indicated that it is important or very important to have a local pub in the community.
Lots of great ideas have been put forward for activities and services that the community would like to see in the reopened pub, but probably the overall sentiment is summed up by one impassioned comment “We want a friendly, welcoming, family-orientated local pub with decent food and drink – is it too much to ask for?”.
With your generous donations, we have joined the Plunkett Foundation, which supports rural communities across the UK with advice, help and resources to assist community-based businesses. To date, the Plunkett Foundation has aided 600-such businesses, many of which are pubs. We have also engaged a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) registered valuer, who specialises in pubs, to carry out a valuation inspection. At the time of writing, the inspection has taken place, with the kind assistance of the owners, and we are awaiting the inspection report. Once we have the market value, which dictates the maximum funding that can be raised from a variety of sources, we will make an offer. I look forward to writing to you again in the New Year with news of any developments.
In the meantime, may I wish you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Mike Petty – Chair
Black Horse Community Group 