Community gets first call on closed 200-year-old village pub
The local community will get first dibs on a closed pub which has been at the heart of village life for 200 years.
Villagers in Bilbrough, between York and Tadcaster, which has a population of just 348, according to the 2021 census, want to preserve the Three Hares Inn which closed in April 2023.
The pub, which was described as a “lifeline” and “vital centre of community life”, has now been given the status of an "asset of community value" (ACV).
An earlier ACV expired but the parish council has now successfully reapplied to North Yorkshire Council, with over 50 people making statements in support.
The pub, which dates from at least 1823, has been at the centre of a planning row since owners, the Wellington Pub Company, applied to turn it into a family home, sparking objections from residents in Bilbrough, surrounding villages and York CAMRA.
North Yorkshire Council rejected the application last October. The council’s refusal was subsequently upheld by a planning inspector, who dismissed an appeal by the pubco.
It means if the owners decide to sell the pub, they must notify the council.
This triggers a process that gives community groups the opportunity to raise funds and bid for the property.
Solicitors for the pubco said there was no “realistic prospect” of the pub reopening in the next five years.
And they claimed the parish council’s bid to secure ACV status was “aimed at preventing development rather than preserving a genuine community asset”.
However supporters successfully argued that the pub had actively been used by the community up until April 2023, when it closed following the tenant’s departure.
It had been used for quiz nights, live music and the annual Bilbrough Golf Day prize-giving evening.
In its long and varied history it had also served as as a bookmakers and auctioneers.
The council’s report said: “There is evidence in the nomination and supporting evidence which shows ad-hoc charity fundraisers have been held at the pub for a minimum of 30 years.”
One supporter compared the pub’s closure to when a theatre “goes dark”: “It cannot be appreciated what an active, well lit ‘beacon’ in the heart of a village with no street lights can contribute to the wellbeing and comfort felt by the community”.