Campaigners handed 'huge boost' in bid to buy pub

A community group which has been campaigning to reopen a village pub for 10 years has been handed a "huge boost" in its efforts.

The Henry Jenkins Group (HJG) has long wanted to purchase and run the former pub of the same name in the village of Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, which closed in 2011.

Last month the Planning Inspectorate dismissed an appeal from one of the site's owners over North Yorkshire Council's decision to reject a planning application to convert an outbuilding into a holiday cottage.

HJG chair Richard Sadler welcomed the dismissal as a "vote of confidence" in the campaign.

The inspectorate said the developer had not demonstrated there was "no reasonable prospect of the public house use continuing on a viable basis", and that the development itself could thwart this.

The appeal heard how the HJG had raised about £146,000 towards the purchase of the pub, although it no longer had access to a £330,000 grant from the government's Community Ownership Fund, which has closed.

In response, David Fielder, who bought the site in 2012, told the BBC: "One hundred and fifty thousand doesn't buy anything in Kirkby Malzeard, never mind renovate and open a pub."

The Planning Inspectorate was told the pub had been placed on the market for £250,000, although the valuation was not an independent one.

An HJG-commissioned valuation in 2017 priced the site at £180,000, though according to the Planning Inspectorate report: "It is now likely to require significant investment to restore it and bring it back into use."

Sadler said the pub in its current state had become "a blight on this lovely village".

"It's part of Kirkby Malzeard history, it's the beating heart of the village and has been there for more than 250 years.

"The demand for this pub is greater than ever, we have just had 30-odd houses built on the edge of the village."

He called on North Yorkshire Council to reconsider the HJG's call for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), adding: "That may be the only way we break the stalemate.

"Before that can happen we will be looking at further mediation with the owner."

The BBC has contacted North Yorkshire Council for comment on the CPO proposal.

The Planning Inspectorate said the HJG was "stuck in a chicken and egg situation regarding its potential purchase".

"As it does not know the true value of the inn, it cannot demonstrate how much money is required, whether it can secure public funding and therefore whether it is in a position to proceed with a purchase," the report noted.

Fielder, who operates 18 other pubs across Yorkshire, remained tight-lipped on his next steps.

He said: "We are always happy to speak to any prospective purchasers - they must have funds.

"We are not developers, we operate pubs."

He reiterated his earlier stance that the Henry Jenkins Inn was "not a viable pub".

"Kirkby Malzeard can't sustain two pubs. That's already proven, anybody who walks in the Queens (Head) would see that."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.