Village pub rejected as community asset amid housing fears

A bid to have a North Yorkshire village pub listed as an asset of community value amid fears it could be turned into housing has failed.

The Coore Arms in Scruton near Northallerton shut in February after landlord Mark Brown said he could not continue to lose money on the business.

In an announcement on social media, the owner blamed the Budget for placing additional burdens on the pub.

He said it was already struggling due to a rise in costs from increases to employers’ National Insurance, the minimum wage and alcohol duty.

The closure prompted Scruton Parish Council to nominate the pub for community asset status with North Yorkshire Council.

The parish council said in its application that it was hoped the pub could be community-run in the future, amid concerns the premises could be turned into housing.

It said 19 people had said they were prepared to buy shares in the purchase of the property and a steering committee had been formed to look at the purchase.

Asset of community value status would have given the community extra time to organise a bid to buy the property if it was put up for sale.

But council officers concluded that the pub did not meet the requirements to be added to the register.

Officers acknowledged that the Coore Arms had operated as a public house for more than 40 years and recognised that it had hosted a range of events over the years, including wedding receptions, funeral wakes and meetings for local groups.

However, the report concluded there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that these activities represented a significant community use beyond the normal operation of a pub.

It found that many of the examples provided were unsupported by documentary evidence, while comments from the owner suggested several activities had either declined significantly, attracted only small numbers of people or had stopped altogether.

Officers also noted that only one person followed through after initially expressing an interest in buying shares in a proposed community purchase.

Although the council accepted that the Coore Arms had a long history in the village and had only been closed for several months, it ruled that the nomination failed both legal tests required for the status.