A community group has been given a substantial cash injection to help save a local pub. The newly formed Ashendon Community Pub Society Limited (ACPS), confirmed it has received a £300,000 government grant to help secure the future of the pub in Ayelsbury Vale.
Ashendon residents joined 79 others in securing funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities in the latest round.
Successful bids included efforts to save sports club facilities, community centres, and former music venues in various communities.
It has been more than a year since the sole pub in Ashendon village shut down. It served as a meeting place for residents of nearby villages, including Westcott, Wotton Underwood, and Dorton, which don’t have pubs fo their own.
The pub has been on the market since 2022, and entertainment property specialist DaveyCo is looking for buyers interested in a leasehold arrangement. It is currently in talks with ACPS, hoping to secure the pub’s future.
An ACPS representative confirmed that £250,000 of the funds will be used for freehold purchases and the remainder retained as working capital.
