The friends of the Piddle Inn want to buy or lease the currently closed village pub and reopen for the benefit of the community.
Everyone in the Valley, and many further afield, will have their own memories of the Piddle Inn. You might have spent many happy evenings catching up with friends over food and drink, formed a tight-knit team for the quiz nights, discovered a great local band, stopped in for a bite to eat on your way through the village ….or maybe, for a time, you went every night after work for a quick pint. However you remember it, we’re asking you to help us keep it alive for now and for future generations.
The Piddle Inn’s current owner has decided not to open as a public house. Having surveyed and consulted the community, a group of people from the Valley, with support from the Parish Council have set up a working group, and subsequently are setting up a Community Benefit Society – The Friends of The Piddle Inn, with the full support of the Parish Council. The Piddle Inn’s owner has recently listed the pub for sale, so the group’s aim is to raise enough money to buy the pub from its current owner to turn it back into a community hub. We have support from the Plunkett Foundation, with a dedicated business advisor to guide us through the process.
We know that it will not be an easy or quick task. But we feel determined that the Piddle Inn should be the cornerstone of our village community. Pubs are vital to rural areas -they help with feelings of isolation by giving residents a place to meet others, offer employment opportunities locally, without the need to travel, and encourage tourism. The Piddle Inn should be open as a public house for locals, and visitors alike to use and enjoy.
Over the coming months, there will be more details about what the group hopes to achieve and how we’re going to fundraise. What we are asking for now is help to get this project off the ground. We need to raise £1,500 imminently to pay for a business buyers report. The report will provide us with the condition of the property, its market value, and its potential in terms of community value and level of trade. The report will allow us to develop a plan and set a more accurate target for our future fundraising efforts.
We must save our pub. Any donations you can give are gratefully received.
This project successfully funded on 1st December 2021