Hull's first community pub close to opening

THE new owners of The New Clarence pub in Hull say they are within striking distance of hitting their target of £250,000 of community shares sales to enable it to reopen.

- By DEBORAH HALL

With just £47k left to raise within the next two weeks, the project has caught the imagination of Hull and East Riding residents who have flocked to invest in the unique project to launch Hull’s first wholly co-operatively run pub. The Hull Community Pub Society was formed in January 2025 with the aim of raising enough money to buy and renovate the pub, in Charles Street.

The group's chairman, former Paralympian Simon Berry, said: “Community shares are a form of social investment. We are encouraging people to join the 325 people who have already come together to buy The New Clarence and create Hull's first community-owned and run pub.”