The Bolton Arms, Redmire: American investor buys Yorkshire Dales pub and re-opens it after villagers feared it would be lost forever

Hopes of it ever re-opening as an inn had begun to fade before a chance encounter on social media led to Mike Burn making an ‘out of the blue’ bid to buy The Bolton Arms, which is historically associated with the Lords Bolton and their Wensleydale estates.

Mr Burn, from Bend in Oregon, was looking for an English business to invest in and read about the pub’s plight on Facebook, subsequently contacting the community group and offering to purchase the building and run it with local involvement. He has now spent the summer in the Dales with his family overseeing the pub’s renovation.

Mr Burn is originally from the north-east of England, and left North Shields in his 20s to forge a successful career in the US.

He said: "Having family in Tynemouth, I've maintained my life-long love of the north and my wish was to contribute to that, and especially the things that are the true essence of the region - and what more so than being out on the fells or in the Dales in horizontal rain in November and finding refuge by a fire in a pub.

"It's a tragedy to see so many of these cultural assets disappearing instead of evolving, as had happened to The Bolton Arms, it represents the slow steady erosion of culture and community."

He and his wife had looked at properties from Leeds to the Scottish Borders before being captivated by Redmire’s potential.

“I know it's really weird that a Geordie sitting in Bend, Oregon, a town with over 30 breweries, by the way, was interested in a community pub in Redmire, but we believed not only could we bring the financial capital to move the project forward, but maybe also some outside board level perspectives.

"I have taught at Columbia Business School in New York to global executives for many years and worked with executives of some of the world’s largest companies, as well as with communities and non-profits before retiring and I saw this as an exciting opportunity."

Mr Burn decided that the tenancy model advocated by the local group was not viable due to the amount of investment required to the building itself, but has instead opted to appoint leading staff to the executive team, where they can be involved in decision-making.

He added: “We know this is a different approach from being fully community owned, but our vision was and remains, to primarily see the establishment run by, for, and of the community - even if the bricks, mortar, and ground are owned by caring and involved partners. "

Kerrie Mackenzie has been appointed as managing director, and will now recruit staff and source suppliers. She has worked at The Bolton Arms under previous management.

Renovations so far have included replacing the floors, repairing damp, overhauling the kitchen and redecorating. Mr Burn plans to install an air source heat pump for the five letting rooms. Much of the work has been done by volunteers.

The Bolton Arms re-opened on September 16, initially with wet service only before the kitchen re-opens, with a new name as befitting a fresh start – it will now be known simply as The Redmire Village Pub. Villagers came together to clean and paint the bar, install new furniture and tidy the beer garden. Darts, dominoes and quoits teams are expected to start up again and a coffee shop is planned.

The Redmire Community Pub Ltd said: “We love the new name - everyone in the village can feel they are part of things now. All we wanted was to have our pub back as a hub for village life. Mike and his family have brought this about, in record time.

"We are delighted with the outcome and will continue to support them in every way possible.”