Village launches £320k campaign to save pub

The Bamford Community Society aims to buy the Anglers Rest, on Main Road, which is the last pub in the village centre.

The pub is currently for sale and the group have plan to turn it into a community hub with a pub, post office, café, bunk house accommodation and parking for both residents and tourists.

The group have successfully registered the pub as an asset of community value under the Localism Act, which means that they have until November 21 to raise the money to buy the pub at the market rate.

They launched their share plan at the Village Carnival on Saturday and are urging local people and those from outside the region to invest between £250 and £20,000.

They need to raise £320,000 in total to buy the building and complete initial renovations.

The group have been working with local residents for the past year and already have £115,000 pledged, and have finances of £150,000 in place should they be required.

Jon Bury, one of the 16 Bamford residents running the campaign said: “Bamford is a thriving community, but the Angler’s Rest is the last surviving pub in the village centre and we want to ensure that it remains here for generations.”