A SHARE issue offering the chance to be a part owner of a community pub has received £170,000 in applications in just a fortnight.
The offer to help fund the re-opening of the Brockweir Country Inn went live on June 1 and campaigners hope to raise more than £450,000 by the end of the month.
The Wyeside pub closed its doors some five years ago, but villagers hope they can follow in the footsteps of the Rising Sun at Woodcroft, which is now a thriving community-owned pub after being shut for more than a decade.
There have also been pledges amounting to £300,000, indicating the groundswell of community support.
Campaign committee member David Rodney said: “After 14 days of the share offer being open we’ve had £170,000 of applications and our target is to get about £450,000.
“With a defined period of a month it concentrates the mind.
“If we don’t make it by June 30, we’ll still apply for other grants but we’d rather that the community owns the pub outright before we rely on any grants.
“If the community owns the pub we do not need to rely on outside funding such as grants to complete the first stage of the pub acquisition. Then we’ll use other grants we apply for to fund the renovation.”
It is hoped the pub will re-open next summer.
Brockweir has been a crossing point on the Wye linking Wales (Monmouthshire) and England (Forest of Dean) for centuries, and the pub – near the 118-year-old Grade II-listed bridge – has slated villagers' thirsts since at least 1793, when it was called the New Inn.
It was also a river port and centre for shipbuilding, with traders sailing down the Wye across the Severn to Bristol.
Sadly, six per cent of all UK pubs have closed in the last six years, with 509 pubs closing over 2023, according to the Campaign for Real Ale.
Pubs that have ceased trading in Monmouth recently include The Three Horseshoes, The Vine Tree and The Gatehouse, with the old Conservative Club and historic Queen’s Head also closed for the last six months.
See www.thebrockweirinn.com for more information.