Villagers use new Act in their fight to save pub
Weekly Walk Hunmanby and Muston The White Swan in Hunmanby Picture by Neil Silk 130116f 04/01/13
A Hunmanby pub, currently on sale with a view to possibly turn it into homes, could be saved by campaigners.
A group of villagers are applying to Scarborough Borough Council under the recent Localism Act to have the historic White Swan listed as an “asset of community value”.
The act, brought in last year, is only beleived to have been used once to stop the sale of a pub going through, and the campaigning villagers hope to “test the waters” with the bid.
Currently the Grade II listed building is being sold by Hull-based estate agents Topham Larard on behalf of Enterprise Inns, with offers exceeding £330,000 considered.
It is being sold with planning pending to turn the site into a nine-property development.
However, Linda Tindall is among a group of residents to oppose the sale, and she hopes Scarborough Council will approve their application, which could temporarily derail the sale and allow villagers to potentially put together a bid for the property.
“We are not giving up on this,” said a defiant Linda.
“There are still people in this village who hope we can save the Swan. It’s still early days, but there are a lot of people in the village who have businesses, and there are all sorts of different avenues we can explore.”
Campaigners are holding a meeting this evening, with the aim to hold a bigger public meeting in the coming weeks to discuss their plans.
If the council does approve the plans, it would mean the price of the property would probably be lower, and would grant the campaigners a stay of execution for six months, allowing them time to prepare a bid.
Hunmanby Parish Council chairman Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncireff said: “The parish council want to give them a chance to make it work.
“We would love for them to be succesful.”
An Enterprise spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing business, we do from time to time identify a pub which is unable to deliver an appropriate level of sustainable income.
“After careful consideration and a review, the decision has been made to offer the White Swan Hotel freehold for sale on the open market, with no restrictions on future use.”
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Weather for Filey
Saturday 18 May 2013
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