ACV support for Somerset pub gathers pace

07-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 09-Jun-2017 at 10:40 GMT

Inside history: the pub has been 'sold subject to contract'

Almost 2,000 people have signed a petition, within a week, to support an asset of community value (ACV) application for a historic Somerset pub that is up for sale.

Tucker’s Grave Inn in Faulkand, Somerset, which is a village with fewer than 1,000 residents, is currently listed as “sold subject to contract” by estate agents Cooper & Tanner.

The Bath and Border branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) launched the petition over concerns that the prospective new owners planned to change the pub’s use.

One of 260

Tucker’s Grave Inn is one of 260 UK pubs to feature in CAMRA’s inventory of historic pub interiors, meaning the interior has barely changed since World War II.

The branch plans to submit the petition, which was only started on 5 June 2017, to Mendip District Council in early July.

Proof of support

Tom Chapman, the pub protection officer for the Bath and Borders branch of CAMRA, said the petition was started following a request from the council for proof of community support for the ACV application.

“There have been pubs listed as ACVs that have been granted planning permission for change of use so it is not a way of guaranteeing the pub's survival, but it certainly can't do any harm,” he said.

If the pub is successfully listed as an ACV and is put back on the market, the community will have six months to put together a bid for the pub. Chapman said CAMRA would gauge community interest at that time.