The Punch Bowl, Burton in Lonsdale: Yorkshire community launches bid to buy last of their village's 13 pubs and run it themselves

The Punch Bowl in Burton in Lonsdale, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, once had 13 inns that served a population that grew when the village’s famous earthenware kilns were in operation.

Since the decline of the industry and the closure of the last pottery in the 1940s, around 600 people live in Burton in Lonsdale, but The Punch Bowl is the only pub that still survives as a hostelry.

The 18th-century coaching inn’s stables were converted into further public areas in the early 1900s. After brewery Thwaites put The Punch Bowl on the market in 2014, it was bought as a freehouse by Michael and Heather Hill, but is now for sale again with an asking price of £315,000.

Now, a number of residents have formed the Burton in Lonsdale Community Inn group with the aim of raising enough capital to buy the building and operate it themselves to ensure it remains as licensed premises.

The group said: “We are a recently formed group of villagers in Burton in Lonsdale, who have banded together to try to save our last remaining village pub - The Punch Bowl - and bring it into community ownership. Momentum for a community purchase is growing rapidly, but we do need to promote our efforts beyond our immediate boundaries.”

Since launching their bid at the end of February, members have collected over 200 responses to a questionnaire sent to residents, who were overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the pub. They have formally registered as a Community Benefit Society, taken advice from the owners of another community-run inn in the Dales, and appointed a surveyor to value the site.

A full survey has also been distributed to local households to find out what people want from a pub, with a pledge form for those who wish to donate.

Community pubs are funded by ‘pledges’ from supporters who are given shares in the business once it begins trading. There are a number of successful examples of the model in Yorkshire, most of them managed on a tenanted basis, with decisions on their running made by a committee of shareholders.

Many were formed in response to fears that property developers would look to convert the pubs into housing, and in some cases, villagers have even won planning battles to prevent the building’s use being changed.

The Punch Bowl has been registered as an Asset of Community Value since 2014, when villagers first considered a buy-out after Thwaites disposed of the building. This status, granted by North Yorkshire Council, means that a bid from the community is given preference over an offer made on the open market.

The group’s members plan to apply for a government Community Ownership Fund grant, which could provide up to 80 per cent of the asking price, and must produce a business plan in order to be eligible.

Burton in Lonsdale already has a successful community-owned shop.