Following overwhelming support from Brockweir, surrounding communities and further afield, the Brockweir Inn has now been purchased and will become a community owned pub.

BICBS Directors outside Brockweir Inn
(Brockweir Inn Community Benefit Society)

This historic pub which has been closed since the current owner began a much needed renovation in 2019, has been a pub for several hundred years.

The Management Committee of the Brockweir Inn Community Benefit Society said: “We are thrilled to have reached this ambitious milestone and are overwhelmed with the support from the local community and beyond. This goes to show how important the pub is for the community and visitors to the area. We look forward to the next part of the journey towards reopening.”

Through fundraising and the 395 people who bought shares in the pub, the community raised enough to buy the pub. The shareholders are members of the Brockweir Inn Community Benefit Society Ltd. (BICBS). The whole community has shaped the future plans of the pub through taking part in extensive consultation and involvement in meetings and questionnaires.

The previous owner’s sensitive renovation has restored the fabric of the building, but significant work still remains. The community will now need to raise money by fundraising, donations and seeking grants, to refurbish the interior, including the bar, kitchen and community space. The BICBS will seek to open at the first opportunity having completed the full refurbishment if possible but have alternatives to complete in phases, over time.

Community projects are planned to celebrate the heritage of the pub and the village of Brockweir with ideas such as an art project and documenting the history of the area through photo displays.

The current owner unearthed the important history of the site during renovations, and the BICBS hopes to utilise these important findings to help shape the pubs future.

Following the growing trend of more rural pubs becoming community owned and with the help of one of them – the Rising Sun at Woodcroft – as well as the Plunkett Foundation, Brockweir has now taken the plunge. Sadly 6% of all UK pubs have closed in the last 6 years, with 383 pubs closing in the first 6 months of 2023 and 509 over the whole year.

As of January 2024, there are now 174 community pubs up and running, and many more are in the pipeline across the UK and these community pubs have a 99% success rate of staying open.

To find out more about this exciting venture, details of upcoming events and pub opening information visit the website at thebrockweirinn.com.