The organisation will receive £452,000 from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme to enable its regional advisors to work with interested local authorities so local pubs and licensees can provide additional services on the basis of community needs.
The new funding follows the success of the first three-year programme launched in 2011, which inspired a variety of projects across eleven local authorities in the country. It resulted in 27 different new services at pubs from shops and libraries to help for elderly residents.
The funding will not be spent in direct support for the pubs themselves so Pub is The Hub said it will continue to work with other sources of private and public funding as well as fundraising for its own Community Services Fund, which gives grants of up to £4,000 per project directly to pubs.
'Delighted'
John Longden, chief executive of Pub is The Hub, said: “We are so delighted to have the recognition and support from the Big Lottery Fund which will help the organisation to fill a very important role in advising great licensees to provide a variety of much needed and vital services within their small local communities. We only exist through donations and grants such as this so fundraising is always uppermost in our thoughts.
“To have this long term support also gives us the confidence and ability to continue to raise funds directly for good licensees who just need that small financial leg-up to diversify their services.
“We will continue use our experience gained from 14 years’ work to help identify priority services needs by working closely with individual communities and their local authorities.”
Pub is the Hub operates as a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to offering advice and support to licensees, rural pubs and community services, as well as to communities considering the options for acquiring their local pub.