Villagers weigh up whether to bid for their ‘local’
A group of residents in Llanblethian, near Cowbridge, are getting together to see if they can buy their local pub – which is currently closed and on the market.
They fear that the Cross Inn on Church Road, Llanblethian, could be redeveloped if it can’t be sold as a going concern.
A small group of local people began to explore the option of raising the funds to buy the pub and manage it, and they are pleased at the number of people who have shown interest.
In the past, such buyouts of pubs have happened quite often, and in the Vale in 1999, villagers in Llancarfan clubbed together to buy the Fox and Hounds. After some years in community ownership, the pub was put back on the market and a new buyer found.
Andrew Jackson lives in Llanblethian and is involved in the group. He told the Glamorgan Star: “We had a good initial response and then held a meeting in the church hall.
“We decided that the best way to proceed was to apply to the Vale Council to make the Cross Inn an ‘Asset of Community Value’. We needed 21 people who were interested. We had 30 straight away and that number soon grew to 38.”
An Asset of Community Value is commercial land or a building that has been listed with its local authority as property that is considered, in the opinion of that authority, to further (and continue to further) the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community.
Andrew Jackson said: “The local pub could and should be one of the focal points of the community, providing much more than just drinks and food.”
Ironically, the pub has recently acquired a new flock of local residents – all within walking distance – with the opening of the Clare Garden Village development nearby. Since Covid hit, very few of those new residents have had the opportunity to stroll over to the Cross Inn.
The idea of a community buying its ‘local’ was in the news only six weeks ago after a group of villagers of Cerrigydrudion, Conwy county raised £535,000 and bought the White Lion Hotel fearing it would be bought, demolished and turned into flats by a developer.
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