Campaigners battling to save Wiltshire village pub hit 50% of fundraising target
'Silks on the Downs' has been shut since March last year
Last updated 21st Apr 2021
Campaigners that are fighting to save a historic village pub in Wiltshire from extinction are officially more than halfway to achieving their ambition.
The Ogbourne Community Pub Society (OCtyPuS) is attempting to re-open 'Silks on the Downs' to the public.
The venue, in Ogbourne St Andrew, has been closed since the first COVID lockdown struck 13 months ago.
After the previous tenant didn't renew their lease last year, the Pub's owner approached the Parish Council, gauging local interest around buying the site outright.
OCtyPuS was subsequently founded.
Having conducted six months of research, assessing the viability of running The Silks as a community-owned pub, local volunteers now hope to raise at least £240,000 to purchase and renovate it.
Anyone contributing to the 'Save the Silks' initiative would own a proportionate slice of the Pub, having a say in the services it offers.
As well as providing high-quality food and drink, OCtyPuS is pledging to operate The Silks as a hub for local residents.
This would include proactively welcoming those struggling with isolation - as well as local clubs, coffee-drinkers and visitors needing an information point.
The Society also hopes that reviving The Silks would encourage more people to venture into the Marlborough Downs, located in close proximity.
Following the launch of OCtyPuS' Community Share offer in February 2021, chairman Stuart Williamson told us why he felt the project was gathering momentum:
Over the past two months, the Society has raised more than £120,000 to help re-open The Silks - a venue that is over 100 years-old.
It also recently received an additional package of £60,000 from the Plunkett Foundation’s 'More Than A Pub' scheme.
OCtyPuS has hailed the contribution:
'Community pubs are so much more than a place to buy a drink'
James Alcock, the Plunkett Foundation’s Executive Director, said: “We’re so pleased to be able to support the Ogbourne Community Pub Society, who are working hard to make sure their community can benefit from everything that having a thriving local pub brings.
"Pubs that are owned and run by the community are so much more than a place to buy a drink; they provide important social spaces and services for local people and are central to their community’s sense of place and identity".
Despite these funds, the Society insists it still wants to hit £240,000 of contributions from members of the public.
OCtyPuS claims that the Plunkett Foundation's funding will be "additional", helping to "reach the final figure to enable the purchase of the Pub".
The deadline for anyone wanting to invest in 'Save the Silks' is 31 May.