Residents raise £450,000 to bring back village pub

A village pub that closed more than two years ago is on the road to reopening after local people raised £450,000 to help buy it.

The Red Lion in Upper Basildon, Berkshire, is now due to open its doors for a community clean-up and it is hoped it will reopen fully next spring.

New owners John Hunter and Annabel Cochrane, who also run the Red Lion in neighbouring Blewbury, said contracts had been exchanged with the previous owners, Stonegate Pub Company.

Hunter said community investors would receive their money back through a monthly membership fee, which could be spent at the bar.

He said there had been a strong interest from residents in having the pub back again, and he hoped it would become "the hub of the community".

"They were faced with the prospect of not having a pub at all," he said.

The "pioneering membership scheme" was "an example of how to re-boot and re-energise the business model for village pubs," he added.

In addition to raising money, the local community has also given its time to help get the pub back into shape, armed with rakes and strimmers.

Community investor Richard Beake said was helping clean up three years' worth of overgrown grass, hedges and growth in the beer garden.

He described it as a "milestone" in the journey to give the village back "a vibrant pub".

Beake also said he was looking forward to drinking pints in the pub as a "return on investment".

Lawrence Spiller, another community investor, said he had also chosen to help restore the pub.

"It's really good to say 'okay village, we are all chipping in," he said.

"It wasn't just enough to put money in, we have to put some heart in as well and this is a way of showing heart."

He said he had "loads of good memories of this pub" and "the beer has always been good and I met many good friends here".