Plough Inn, Longparish, Pub Saving Award 2022 winner
Nominations for the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Pub Saving Award are now open until mid-November. The award looks to celebrate and honour people who have saved pubs from demolition or conversion.
In the wake of the Crooked House demolition this award is more important than ever, as CAMRA and its volunteers campaign to keep pubs open – a vital heartbeat of communities across the UK.
One of the award’s main aims is to secure publicity for pub-saving campaigns and encourage others to save their local. The nomination form can be found on the CAMRA website here: Pub Saving Award – CAMRA – Campaign for Real Ale
Paul Ainsworth, Coordinator for CAMRA’s Pub Saving Award said: “This award shows the sheer determination and passion people have for our beloved pubs. We are seeing too many across the country close their doors against a backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, energy bills and the shadow the pandemic continues to cast.
“However, determined campaigners across the country are working tirelessly behind the scenes and CAMRA wants to celebrate these amazing people, while inspiring others and highlighting the steps they can take to save their local.
“The Pub Saving Award aims to showcase the fantastic achievements of these community groups around the country and inspire others to fight to save their local pub from closure.”
The current winner is The Plough Inn Longparish, Hampshire, a historic building dating back to 1721. Local villagers sprang into action when it closed its doors in 2015, lobbying planning officers to deny planning permission to turn the pub into a residence. Grants, donations and a community share scheme were sought – which attracted more than 300 investors – to purchase the pub, in conjunction with the Parish Council, in February 2021.
After months of incredibly hard work, completely refurbishing the property inside and out, and three hundred years after it first began trading, The Plough Inn is once again at the heart of the Longparish community. Local villagers have taken on a 99-year lease from the council for the exclusive use of the property to secure and safeguard the future of the Plough Inn as a public house and promote it as an amenity of prime importance to the community.
