Community Benefit Society registration number 9287

What is Casterton Community Hub Limited?

An informal and committed group of village residents, who are passionate about The Pheasant Inn, its importance for the village and hence its long-term future, got together in January 2024 with the aim of saving The Pheasant Inn as a pub.

The original informal group has now registered as a Community Benefit Society through Plunkett UK (a charity which assists groups to bring local assets into community ownership) called Casterton Community Hub Limited. A CBS is essentially a formalised community enterprise, which will operate under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.

Society seal and rules

The CBS committee are:

The Pheasant Inn

The Pheasant Inn is an eighteenth century coaching inn situated at the heart of the village of Casterton on the popular A683 and between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales in the beautiful Lune valley. It is the only pub in the village and there is no other pub for two miles. It features a cosy bar, separate restaurant, good food and local ales, 10 letting bedrooms, a garden and customer parking. Past owners built up a reputation for atmosphere, great food and drink and social inclusivity, which put the pub at the heart of the community.

Background

As of October 2025 the background information here is out of date since The Pheasant was sold to new owners. See the updates for October below.

The current owners wish to retire and The Pheasant Inn has been on the market as a viable business for seven years. In December 2023 they submitted a full planning application to Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for change of use to convert and subdivide The Pheasant Inn into three private houses. Following this, an informal group of residents passionate about the pubs’ survival came together and a public meeting took place to inform village residents of the situation. A strong village response saw circa 60 objections, including the Parish Council and the informal residents group subsequently applied to Westmorland & Furness Council to list The Pheasant Inn as an Asset of Community Value. The application for registration as an Asset of Community Value was approved in February 2024. This affords the community a six-month bid moratorium window which is in place until 7th August 2024 and facilitates a limited time to secure investment and purchase the freehold of the Pheasant Inn for the benefit of the community of Casterton.

During February 2024 an inaugural survey and questionnaire was launched to all village residents to better understand their views. Despite the requirement for a short response period of just 3 weeks, 85 responses were received, with 71 (85%) respondents saying that a village pub was very important or important. In March 2024 a further public meeting was held in the village to share the survey results and discuss potential next steps.

The group has joined Plunkett UK; registered Casterton Community Hub Limited with the Financial Conduct Authority; and focus has moved to progressing to a formal bid for the community purchase of The Pheasant Inn. A meeting in April 2024 with Tim Farron MP has also enabled engagement and support from our local Member of Parliament for a planned application to the Community Ownership Fund for funding to support the purchase.

The story so far

December 2023

6th December: Planning application notices appear. Planning permission being sought to close the Pheasant and convert the building into three houses.

12th December: Public meeting held in Casterton Village Hall to discuss the planning application.

18th December: Asset of Community Value (ACV) application submitted.

26th December: Planning Application response period closes.

January 2024

9th January: Parish Council discuss Planning Application and submit objection.

Mid January: Purchase price reduced.

February 2024

5th February: ACV registration granted by W&F Council for five years. Bid moratorium available until early August 2024.

19th February: Community pub survey launched and distributed to Casterton residents.

March 2024

8th March: Deadline for returning community pub survey.

11th March: Request to W&F Council to activate bid moratorium.

12th March: Planning Application withdrawn.
Request to Casterton Parish Council for £1,000 exploration costs approved to cover membership of Plunkett UK, registration of a Community Benefit Society and additional costs.

13th March: Informal group joins Plunkett UK.

19th March: Plunkett appoint advisor to assist action planning, engagement and support until 19th June 2024.

25th March: Public meeting held in Casterton Village Hall to present results of community pub survey, progress to date and next steps. Presentation slides from meeting

April 2024

15th April: Application submitted to register Casterton Community Hub Limited with the FCA.

20th April: Meeting with Tim Farron MP.

May 2024

3rd May: Community Benefit Society registration with FCA completed.

10th May: Society bank account opened with the Co-operative Bank.

25th May: Community Ownership Fund suspended due to general election.

30th May: RICS valuation report for The Pheasant received.

June 2024

3rd June: Meeting with potential buyer.

July 2024

24th July: CCH advised by Pheasant owners that the potential buyer (due to take ownership in August) has dropped out.

October 2024

11th October: The Pheasant owners re-submit their planning application to close the pub and convert it to housing.

17th October: CCH contact everyone on the mailing list to let them know about the planning application.

December 2024

14th December: CCH met with Lizzi Collinge, our MP, to brief her on the situation and discuss how she can help.

23rd December: The Community Ownership Fund is formally closed after never having been reopened for applications since the election.

February 2025

19th February: CCH visited The Farmer’s Arms in Muker to meet their CBS team and find out more about their successful fundraising campaign and community purchase.

March 2025

5th March: CCH renewed our membership of Plunkett UK for another year.

April 2025

9th April: Because the planning application creates too much uncertainty, CCH has put its plans on hold until the planning application is decided.

October 2025

8th October: The Pheasant is sold to new owners who we are told already have one pub. We don’t have too many confirmed details as yet but there are two new chefs (replacing Duncan) who will serve a new menu, and a new front of house manager (replacing Heather). The rest of the staff (James, Michael, Ari and the various others who help morning and evening) are unchanged. The operating hours are staying the same for now.

17th October: The new owners are locals Matt and Lauren Chapman, with Jason Bowen who runs the Strawbury Duck pub in Entwistle (Bolton). The new chefs are on loan from there so they still need to find new, full-time chefs and the menu is temporary until then. Opening hours, particularly food service, have changed slightly. They plan some modifications and renovations to the restaurant and bar areas in the new year (the pub will close for a few weeks in January) after which they hope to open seven days a week.

February 2026

18th February: The pub re-opens following a major refurbishment and redecoration project, with an extended bar area, remodelled restaurant, new flooring and wood-burners, and additional staff. It will now be open 7 days a week.

Contact us

If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive email updates about progress, please email ian.hodge@castertonvillage.org

If you have any questions or would like to contribute to the ongoing costs of the campaign, please email andreasharpy@icloud.com