The great village REVIVAL

Three women made an impact in their communities

- GILLIAN HARVEY

‘It’s so much more than just a pub’

Sally Soady, 63, lives in Bamford, Derbyshire, with her husband John, 65.

We’ve lived in the beautiful village of Bamford for 24 years – a perfect, rural location in the heart of the Peak District. For years, the village had two pubs, a shop, GP surgery and post office.

The GP surgery closed in 2007, which was a real blow. Then one of the pubs, The Derwent, shut its doors in 2011. When, in 2012, we heard the remaining pub, The Anglers Rest, was up for sale and then shortly afterwards that the post office might close too, locals were devastated.

Villages die without facilities, so a group of us called a meeting to discuss the future. ‘Why don’t we take over the pub ourselves?’ someone suggested. ‘And the contract with the Post Office too?’

The idea was daunting, but we formed a steering group of 12 residents to take on the challenge. No one had hospitality experience – we felt like contestants on The Apprentice! But we formulated a plan to sell shares in the pub; to create a community-owned business.

In July 2013, we presented the plan at the village carnival, began regular drop-in Q&A sessions and leafleted houses. It worked! On 20 August, the news came that we’d raised our minimum £180,000. Not only that, but the Post Office had agreed we could take on the contract and run services from the pub.