A possible new community pub in Walworth has got £14,000 in funding to move forward to the next stage of development.
The funding, from Southwark Council and the Co-op, will let the organisers put together a share offer for people to own a stake in the pub. These would be likely to go for as little as £100. The group will probably need to raise between £100,000 and £1.5 million through different funding sources.
The initial money the group has raised will also help them keep consulting local people on what kind of pub they would want.
Matthew Meynell, one of the co-founders of the group, said they want to “capture what people normally want from a pub but also reach a wider group of people”.
“We’re a very diverse area in Walworth, but we don’t really have places that the different communities can come together and mix in.”
Part of the plan to get different groups together is to focus on food. Mr Meynell said the group would try to crowdsource menus and recipes as a hook to get people involved.
The first survey, run in part through the News, got a positive response from the roughly 150 people who replied. Most people who responded were concerned about possibly losing the nearby Beehive pub. The council’s planning committee turned down plans to convert the Beehive into flats in January.
Another concern was that the high level of recent development in Walworth had not been matched by an increase in public and community spaces for people to socialise in. This has also been a worry for people in nearby Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, with a housebuilding boom taking place alongside the closure of several community pubs.
Nearly everyone who responded was excited by the idea of a new community pub. Some 80 per cent were interested in buying a share of the pub.
The next steps are to meet at least 500 more people in person over the summer to hear their views on the future pub, finalise a business plan and find a site.
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Former civil servant Mr Meynell has some relevant background – he co-owns a pub in Wales and is also a keen home brewer. But he has gathered a group of about 25 people with useful experience in running pubs, as well as accountancy and communications, who have offered to help out.
Jeremy Leach from community group the Walworth Society said, which is supporting the plan, said: “We are really pleased at the interest in a community pub for Walworth. What started out as deep regret at the loss of pubs locally along with the threat to the future of the Beehive is now turning into a strong and positive campaign that lots of people are clearly very keen to get behind.”
Local councillors Alice Macdonald and Eleanor Kerslake are also supporting Mr Meynell and co-founder Frances Foley on the campaign, which Cllr Macdonald said she was “pleased” to back.
“Pubs play a huge role in helping bring communities together,” she said. “As Newington councillors, we’ve provided local funding to help ensure the views of people across our neighbourhood are heard showing our full support for this project.”
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