Residents are fighting to save their "vital" community pub after plans were lodged to turn the building into a home.
The clock is ticking for Whorlton village, near Barnard Castle, as the community has just six months to pull together to avoid losing their local.
The potential loss of the pub, which has been put up for sale, has been branded an “immense blow” to the village and the building's history.
Now, the Whorlton Community Benefit Society committee has published an open letter to rally residents in a fight to save the pub, so they can continue to have a place to “meet, to socialise, and support one another”.
The group wants to fundraise enough money through a shareholder model to buy, renovate, and maintain the pub, before finding a tenant to run it.
A first public meeting has now been organised for next month.
'Once it's gone, it's gone'
Whorlton resident Elisa Hargreaves is leading the drive, saying they “just need the public's support” to keep the the Grade II listed building, which dates back to the early 1800s, alive.
The 30-year-old sales worker argued that “once it’s gone, it’s gone” - and said The Bridge Inn is not solely about people meeting to drink alcohol.
“It’s a needed place to have a chat, perhaps over coffee and cake”, she explained.
“We live in a cost of living crisis - the log burner will be roaring. We live in a loneliness epidemic, there’ll always be a friendly face to talk to and come together as a community.”
Elisa also noted that there were lots of other successful examples of communities buying back their pub, and that these can be learned from to “make ours an equal success”.
The Bridge - which still stands as Barnard Castle’s highest-rated pub on TripAdvisor - is planned to open later this year, and will help trade from Tees Way walkers, cyclists, and other passersby driving through.
She hopes people - even those who don’t live in Whorlton - will come together and buy shares to contribute to bringing back the pub.
A first public meeting is now set to take place at Whorlton Village Hall on May 8 at 6pm, and after this, fundraising will follow with the goal to buy the pub and find a tenant.
The full open letter states:
As you may know, our only village pub The Bridge Inn is up for sale.
Plans had been submitted to convert the Grade II listed building into a house, but thanks to a wave of objections from many of you - residents, locals and even the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), we have a final, golden opportunity to save this vital community asset.
At a time when so many villages are losing their pubs forever, we have just under 6 months to pull together as a community and “bring back the Bridge Inn”.
We, the Whorlton Community Benefit Society committee, feel very passionately that the loss of the pub would be an immense blow to the community and its history.
It’s far more than a place to just have a pint, it’s a much needed space where residents and visitors alike can come together to meet, to socialise, and support one another.
Sadly, we live in a time of a loneliness epidemic. Now, more than ever before, we need a community hub.
Our proposal: with your help, we plan to fundraise enough money through a shareholder model to buy, renovate and maintain The Bridge Inn as a community pub, with the aim of finding a tenant to run it.
We would like to invite you to our first public meeting at Whorlton Village Hall (DL12 8XG) on the 8th May at 6pm. Anyone is welcome!
Having been an established part of the village of Whorlton since the 1800s, once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Are you with us?
As previously reported, the building is currently up for sale with a price tag of £350,000, with the plans submitted to convert the site drawing in a wave of objections.
Locals and stakeholders, including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), previously expressed concerns about losing the asset, describing its conversion as a “blow to the community”.
A petition with dozens of signatures from residents and objectors has also been submitted.
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