Enterprise crowns Community Hero 2015

The Cellar House, Eaton, claimed top prize ahead of 53 other Enterprise pubs that made it to the final as regional winners, at a ceremony at The Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa, Blackburn.

The Community Heroes Awards, now in their fourth year, celebrate the vital role publicans and their pubs play in enhancing the lives of local people.

Cellar House licensee Victoria MacDonald hosts a wide range of local community groups at the pub, and due to customer demand has introduced a beer festival, with entertainment for children.

She said: “We always listen to the community and what it wants. We’ve been working in partnership with Pub is the Hub and will soon launch a post office service in the pub, following closure of the local facility.”

Victoria received the national winner’s cheque for a total of £6,000 for her to spend on future community projects.

Because the pub, which describes itself as ‘a pub for the people’, is a village focal point, it is keen to develop an information hub for visitors, new residents and the broader community. It will also look at organising training sessions in information and communication technology for elderly residents.

Dedicated​

National runner-up, receiving a total of £5,000, was The Jolly Sailor, in Northgate, Canterbury, run by licensee Ian Blackmore.

A further 16 regional winners each received £3,000, regional runners-up won £1,500, and regional third-placed pubs were handed cheques for £500.

Enterprise chief executive Simon Townsend said: “We received a record 426 entries this year, all of them superb examples of great community pubs run by dedicated publicans, and all doing their bit for the communities they’re part of.”