By Sue Read

A STEADY flow of about 100 people went along to an open day at Yeoford on Saturday, September 23 to share ideas on the possibility of the village buying its own “local”.

The Mare and Foal has been for sale for two or three years, the owner recently applied to Mid Devon District Council to close it to make it a private house.

This caused a fairly rapid response in the village and area with more than 200 letters of objection being sent to the district council protesting that the village needed its pub.

Many understood the needs of the current owner and understood his reasons, even if they did not approve of his proposal.

An application was made to the Plunket Foundation which granted a £2,500 bursary towards a community consultation, mounting the display for the open day and other work.

The Yeoford Community Pub and Amenities Association was set up, a steering group formed, the minutes of which are posted on the “Save Yeoford’s Mare and Foal” Facebook page and parish noticeboards.

If no private buyer for the pub comes forward, then it would go ahead with a community buyout option.

“The key word is ‘community’,” said spokesperson Jon Rattenbury. “We will try to keep the community informed and involved all the way through and we hope the community will help make it possible.”

Ways to garner loans and grants are being looked at and people are being asked for fundraising ideas.

“For a community buyout to be successful we will not only need to raise enough money but also need as many people to be involved as possible,” added John.

“If anyone has skills they can offer or just want to help out then we would very much like to hear from them.” .

There is the email address: [email protected] or keep an eye on the Facebook page.

The exhibition gave plenty of chance for people to post comments and ideas and by the end of the day, the display boards were full of Sticky Notes on each section.

The responses to the recent survey were on display, which showed that the majority of people would favour a pub remaining in the village and supported a community ownership model. They would like a shop with the pub, then a cafe, Post Office, prescription service and a library.

One part of the exhibition was a chance to put a sticker on a line of figures outlining the suggested community share offer, where anyone might be interested in investing- remembering that there would hopefully be a 30 per cent tax relief for those paying tax.

It is hoped the group will be able to launch the share option sometime towards the end of October.

The idea of community owned pubs is growing. Since the first opened in 1988, there are now 70 co-operative pubs open and trading, according to CAMRA, the real ale organisation. A few of these are in Devon, as well as elsewhere in the country.

CAMRA estimates that 29 pubs close every week and more and more communities are choosing to take action.

Among questions asked on Saturday were “What kind of pub do people want to see in Yeoford, activities they’d like to be organised and suitable opening times”.

As for the shop idea, people were asked what type of produce they might like to see, ideas on how to run and staff it and opening hours.

There is much for the village to think about and they were warned that if the village does not take action, it could lose the only facility left there, apart from the village hall and primary school.

The new Community Hall could never replace the pub and as the village has had a village hall for a great many years with a highly successful pub at the same time, it was thought that could happen again, with a bit of planning.

Among the many people who visited was the local Mid Devon District Council member who farms a mile or so up the hill from the pub, Cllr Derek Coren.

He commented that he would try to find out what the district council could do, if anything, to help.