Wiltshire villagers join forces in attempt to save local pub from extinction
A pub society in our region is looking to raise £240,000 to revive a historic boozer
Last updated 10th Mar 2021
A campaign has been launched to save a historic pub in Wiltshire from extinction.
'Silks on the Downs', in Ogbourne St Andrew, has been closed since lockdown began in March 2020.
After the previous tenant didn't renew their lease, the pub's owner approached the Parish Council last year, to gauge local interest around buying the venue outright.
The Ogbourne Community Pub Society (OCtyPuS) was subsequently born.
Having conducted six months of research, assessing the viability of running The Silks as a community-owned pub, local volunteers now want to raise between £240,000 and £500,000 to purchase 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 proposing to utilise The Silks as a hub for various community requirements.
This would include proactively welcoming residents 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 explore the Marlborough Downs, located just a stone's throw away.
Since applications opened for shareholders on 10 February, the project has gained interest from pub-enthusiasts both locally and worldwide.
OCtyPuS chairman, Stuart Williamson, has told us why his campaign is gathering momentum:
In the Chancellor's Budget announcement on 3 March, a new £150 million package was unveiled to help residents buy their community assets - including pubs.
The government's Community Ownership Fund enables groups, such as OCtyPuS, to apply for up to £250,000 to rescue local boozers under threat of permanent closure.
The announcement follows almost a year of various lockdown restrictions, forcing hospitality venues across Wiltshire to shut for several months.
This has compounded further misery on an industry which has suffered across the country over the last two decades.
According to the British Beer and Pub Association, 22% of UK pubs shut their doors forever between 2000 and 2018.
To stop the demise continuing in Ogbourne St Andrew, people can invest in 'Save the Silks' until 31 May.