Saved pub is one of the greenest

A pubrescued from the threat of being turned into flats five years ago has been transformed after support from the Rural Enterprise Grant (REG) programme.

Neil Kerr, who once ran more than 500 pubs for Boddingtons, bought the then-named Red Lion pub in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, in 2008, three years after it was closed by previous owners who had planned to change the site into residential accommodation.

Renamed the Kilpeck Inn, the pub has been on the receiving end of more than £40,000 of REG funding and has subsequently staked a claim to be one of the greenest in England.

It features a range of energy-saving devices such as solar heating, rainwater recovery, wood-burning boiler and low energy lighting and appliances. A dozen new and part-time jobs have also been created at the site.

Kerr said the pub's focus would be changed to meet a variety of needs. "While we still serve the community, we have added food and accommodation as we try to capitalise on the tourism market, especially for walkers on the Herefordshire Trail."

The REG finance helped the pub fit some of the energy-saving gizmos it otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford, Kerr said.

"All businesses need to be conscious of the cost of energy and also the environment these days, which is why we've placed such emphasis on the sustainable features in the pub.

"The whole grant process was smooth from start to finish and it has really given us a great start as a rural business."

Dorothy Coleman, REG programme manager, said: "We're delighted that the Kilpeck Inn is doing so well since it reopened.

"Not only is it providing an important community focal point and bringing trade into the village, but the environmental aspects of the refurbishment are a standard other new pubs should be following.

"This is exactly the sort of business the Rural Enterprise Grants exist to support."

Funding of up to 40 per cent - or £62,500 - can be secured towards projects that range from new processing machinery and supply chain equipment to improvements to tourism experiences.