Our campaign to keep a pub in our village

Like many villages, Great Ryburgh has progressively seen our local pubs close over the years. In years gone by, there were a number of pubs in the village, and when the last pub standing, The Blue Boar, closed its doors in 2022, the community decided to act.

An Asset of Community Value

In late 2022 The Blue Boar closed its doors, with the tenants citing financial difficulties. This sparked concerns around the community that it might be lost for good.

The Blue Boar was then put up for sale. Determined to save the pub for the community, a group of us came together to raise the funds to purchase the pub as a community-owned enterprise, like our very successful village shop.In May 2023 the local council granted our request for the Blue Boar to be listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), preventing the pub being converted into flats or houses.

A subsequent appeal upheld the listing, giving the community a pathway to purchasing the pub.

Community-wide support

The response from our community has been overwhelming, and we’re determined to turn that support into a permanent space for the community to meet up and make new friends. When the Blue Boar was taken off of the market, but not reopened, we decided to focus our campaign on pop-up events to bring the community together in the way our local pub would. We’ll be continuing to run these events as we await further developments with government legislation and explore other options to ensure the village retains a permanent pub.

Join us to support our campaign

Together, we’ll keep our dream of a thriving pub in Great Ryburgh alive—for now, one event at a time. Our initial events have been a resounding success: we plan to run a new one each 4-6 weeks from now on. Please join us for the next one and email us if you’d like to be involved or have suggestions for pop-up pub events.