The tiny north Yorkshire village of Hudswell had no shop and no Post Office, so when its only pub closed in 2008 because the owners couldn’t afford the mortgage, the community suffered a serious blow.
After 18 months without the George and Dragon, a group of locals decided enough was enough. Eighty villagers, along with 90 other supporters, banded together and set themselves up as an industrial and provident society, Hudswell Community Pub Ltd. They prepared a business plan, issued a prospectus and raised £224,000 in share capital to buy the pub.
Not only has the George and Dragon now reopened, it also houses a library and offers internet access. Recently, a shop opened there too – the first in the village for 30 years. There are also 10 community allotments in the pub garden.
Hudswell Community Pub Ltd is democratically owned and controlled by its members. Any person or organisation can become a member by purchasing shares, and each member has one vote regardless of the number of shares held. At least 40% of the shareholders must live in the parish of Hudswell.
Shares cost £1 each and the minimum holding is 500. The initial funds to purchase the pub were raised from 150 individual shareholders, half of whom live in the village, with a good few more hailing from the nearby town of Richmond. There is one major institutional shareholder, the Key Fund Yorkshire, which invested £20,000.
The enterprise is now managed by a board of 11 directors, all of whom are Hudswell residents. Although the George and Dragon is owned by a co-operative society, it is run in a traditional way, with the licensed business let to a tenant who pays an annual rent sufficient to allow the society to pay a reasonable dividend to its members.
The pub sells ales from local brewers, good quality food from local suppliers and provides a venue for traditional pub sports and pastimes, local events and celebrations, music and culture. It was recently named a winner in the Social and Community category of the Yorkshire and Humber Market Town Awards.
Find out more: www.richmond.org/community/hudswellpub