Progress report – 14th January 2025

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After our positive meeting with MP Lizzi Collinge in December we were disappointed to receive the government’s announcement that the Community Ownership Fund would be closed for good to new applications. The CCHL management committee held a meeting last night to discuss our options following this news.

Given the success of other community pub purchases locally in recent months and the strength of feeling in the village about the importance of our village pub, we have decided to keep going. We are now exploring other funding and grant opportunities to supplement a community share offer to allow us to bid for The Pheasant. We’re planning to meet other local community groups that have raised money to buy their local pubs recently to learn more about their approaches.

Meanwhile, the planning application to close The Pheasant and turn it into three houses will not be considered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Planning Authority before mid March at the earliest. Representatives of Casterton Parish Council and Casterton Community Hub Limited will attend the planning meeting to present our views, when it eventually happens.