The Windmill Community Pub

The Windmill's story so far...

The Windmill was a welcoming place for families and dogs, offering a great range of beers, wines and providing excellent food at reasonable prices. It was the ‘go to place’ in South Bristol for a great evening out, Sunday lunch or a quick drink after work. In March 2020 the pub ceased trading and is now closed.

The Windmill Pub has been very successful in the past, however over the last few years has seen profits decrease with the pub just about breaking even. From all our research we believe this is still very much a viable business, and with your help, we can achieve great things.

In January 2019 the current owners put The Windmill up for sale. Unfortunately no buyers came forward and subsequently the owners put in a planning application to convert the property into flats.  At time of press, the current owners have resubmitted a planning application to turn the pub into 5 flats so time is of the essence if this property is to remain a pub.

In December 2019 a Steering Group, made up of volunteers from the local community, was formed. We engaged with the community to find out what the community felt about the pub and whether there was support for a community pub. Our survey had over 700 replies and results were extremely positive towards the community buying The Windmill. This spurred us on to try to save The Windmill and launch the Share Offer.

What are community shares?

Community shares allow ordinary people to invest and take ownership in organisations which they care about, whilst giving them a financial and social return. All Members are entitled to one vote regardless of how many shares they hold. Members can be paid interest on their shares, and are able to withdraw their shareholding, along with any interest accrued, subject to the conditions of the share offer and the approval of the elected Management Committee.

As a Community Pub, the values and aims of The Windmill will reflect those of its community. There will be clear community involvement in the direction that the pub takes, through consultation with shareholders who will have a say in all major decisions. The Windmill will become a place that adapts to the needs of its community.

So what are the benefits?

• Keeping the pub open, as a pub and an important asset for the community.
• Through drinking in the pub you’ll be financially benefitting yourself and community.
• The current aim is to pay 3% share interest at the end of Year 3. With interest rates currently at 0.25% this is a vastly better offer than most high street banks savings accounts.
• You can influence and input into how the pub is run.

How much money is needed?

To achieve our goal, we are aiming to raise £550,000 overall for the purchase, refurbishment and initial operating funding. This will be raised through this community share offer, grants, loans and potentially a mortgage against the property (dependent on how much is raised through the community share issue). This share offer is a community investment to purchase and refurbish The Windmill, and to run it successfully. We need to achieve a minimum of £300,000 in investment from the share offer to deliver our business plan.

Please check out the Share Offer document below that outlines all the details. You will also find our Business Plan and Community Benefit Society Rules.