SaveThe Storey Arms
Osgathorpe
Aiming to save the Storey Arms and be the first community owned pub in Leicestershire
Who Are We?
The Osgathorpe Community Pub Ltd group (OCPL) was set up by the Parish Council as a community co-operative society to purchase the Storey Arms for the benefit of community to ensure it always stays as a village pub and an asset for the future. We are working on behalf of the village and welcome any thoughts and views you have.
Key Aims
The OPCL continues to work with the Parish Council to buy the Storey Arms for the community.
As the planning application for the pub, to be turned into a private residence, was turned down in Oct 2023 the Storey Arms should remain a pub. Now that this has been made clear we hope that the pub will reopen. We also hope we can make progress with the owner to buy the pub for the community. Our plan is as follows:
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To agree a price with the owner based on an independent RICS Red Book valuation.
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Once a price is agreed the membership of the OCPL would be expanded to all those wishing to join, this would take the form of an initial share issue that would be priced to encourage the maximum number of people to join, as well as to raise money for the purchase. The membership has not been expanded before as we were making no progress on agreeing a price.
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An agreed price enable us to apply for a Community Ownership Fund (COF) grant to buy and renovate the pub. This government fund has been providing money for communities to purchase their local pub and would be a great opportunity for us. Successful applicants can receive up to 80% of their pub’s independent valuation, to a maximum of £250,000.
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Additional money would then need to be raised from other sources to bridge the gap to the agreed price, i.e. grants and / or additional share issues.
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If we can buy the pub in this way the pub freehold would be owned by the shareholders in the community, and we would then have the choice of how best to run it.
None of the above would stop the owner from selling the pub to anyone they want, provided the buyer knows it should remain a pub. If it were sold to private buyer who wanted to run it as a pub we would be happy to welcome the new owner and help to make the pub a success in the village.
Osgathorpe Village Voice Update
31st October 2023
A Change of Use Application was made to North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) to change The Storey Arms pub into a private residence. If this had been successful, the last remaining pub in the village would have been lost forever. The application was turned down, helped by the large number of objections submitted by villagers. This means that the Story Arms (41 Main Street) should remain a pub.
With the support of the Parish Council the Osgathorpe Community Pub Ltd (OCPL) was established in 2014 with the sole objective of saving the Storey Arms as a community asset. We very much hope that the pub owners will now reopen the pub or sell it to a party who wishes to run it as a pub. The OPCL is actively working to buy it for the community.
Agreeing a price would be the first step following which we can throw all our energy into raising the necessary finance. This will likely include applying for a Community Ownership Fund (COF) grant to buy and renovate the pub. This government fund has been providing money for communities to purchase their local pub and would be a great opportunity for us. Successful applicants can receive up to 80% of their pub’s independent valuation, up to a maximum of £250,000.
The remaining money for purchase and renovation of the Storey Arms would need to be raised from other sources, e.g. grants and / or a share issue. To give an idea of the amount of money we would need to raise, an illustrative estimate for 2 purchase prices is shown below.
The pub was a topic of much interest at the village meeting on the 25th Oct. There was a strong feeling that the closure of the Storey Arms has had a negative effect on the social life of the village and that the campaign to retain it should continue.
Illustration of the funds that would be needed on top of the COF grant for 2 different purchase prices:
If you have any questions or wish to support this community pub initiative please e-mail savethestorey@gmail.com