‘It’s not like a normal pub’: How communities are rallying together to breathe new life into dying pubs

In most circumstances, staggering in circles yelling gibberish would get someone barred from a pub.

But Arthur Salvage can do what he likes. He is 20 months old, after all, and trying to run before necessarily learning to walk. Nonetheless, the toddler is eager to explore every inch of The Bevy Community Pub in Moulsecoomb housing estate, just outside of Brighton. “He’s a bit excited,” says his mum, Maddison. “He wants to see everything.”

There’s plenty to see. The Bevy looks, in some ways, like an old-school boozer: pool table, beer taps, a darts board. But when Big Issue visits, the place is filled with tables of paints and craft materials, surrounded by a dozen very excited children. It’s The Bevy’s weekly ‘Kids Club’, explains eight-year-old Stanley.

“We always have fun and the food’s really good,” he says. “Today we’re having chicken nuggets and chips. We’re making leaf paintings…you should come.” Ten-year-old Lara echoes this sentiment. “It does loads of different things for different kinds of people,” she says matter-of-factly.

The Bevy – the only community-owned pub on a council estate in the UK – has a packed schedule of activities. As a cooperative owned by its members, it is run by and for local people, explains director Bob Thust, with profits invested back into the community. “The Bevy is a community centre with a bar, basically,” he says.

There are 180-odd community pubs in the UK, established when a group of locals step in to save a dead or dying pub. Across the country, a total of 37,500 people have bought shares in a community boozer – raising over £35 million between them.

This is how The Bevy got started. When the old Bevendean hotel shut in 2010, a group of “determined, pig-headed, wouldn’t-take-no-for-an-answer” residents – as per The Bevy’s own website – held a public meeting to see if people were interested in reopening it as a community pub.

With shares kept at £10 to stay affordable, they raised around £40,000, only a fraction of the £200,000 needed. Unlike many community pubs – situated in relatively wealthy rural areas – they had to secure the rest through grants and loans. But failure was not an option.

“Locals were just like, well, ‘here’s another thing going from our area, we can’t let that happen,” Thust says.

Moulsecoomb is not affluent. The area around The Bevy ranks 1,080th out of 32,844 areas in England on the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation – placing it among the 4% most deprived in the country. ‘Deprived’ has stark connotations that don’t reflect the resilience of this East Brighton community.

But like areas up and down the country, Moulsecoomb suffered during a decade of austerity.

Residents have been hit by wage stagnation and declining living standards: Resolution Foundation research from 2023 found that 15 years of wage stagnation had left British workers £11,000 worse off a year. In the context, the free – or very cheap – services that the pub provides are a lifeline to residents.

“This is family Thursday, which is for children and their families,” activity coordinator Gemma explains. “We also run a disability disco once a month, that’s inclusive to all, and a seniors’ lunch group, they come in Friday. We have musical memories, which is once every two weeks, live music for those with dementia,” – she pauses for breath. “There’s lots on.”

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Nick Plumb, director of policy at Power to Change, an organisation supporting community business, believes the best thing about community pubs is that they aren’t just about profit. “We’ve worked with lots of community pubs across the country, some of them in rural areas, some of them in urban areas – including The Bevy,” he tells Big Issue.

“There’s an existing business model based on the traditional pub, but the new community management thinks how can we expand that, and use it to serve locals? So, lots of the community pubs we’ve worked with are running things like daycare for children, or a dementia cafe. Some of them in rural areas might have a small shop, if there is no supermarket. It becomes a community hub.”

Taylor, who brings her three children to The Bevy’s Kids Club every single week, says it’s a “lifeline.”

But all this provision comes at a price. For community pubs, raising revenue to subsidise the community offering is particularly difficult. Locals are dedicated – the pub is currently crowdfunding £2,000 to fix their oven – but the costs mount.

“We’re quite different to most community pubs because of our location,” says Thust. “We can’t raise much through community shares, so we are very reliant on grants.”

“It’s a tough gig because you need and want to keep everything affordable. We rely a lot on volunteer time, and donations, and grants. And grant funding is increasingly hard to come by. We don’t have a lot of resources; it’s hand to mouth.”

It’s hard to keep a pub open in this country. In July, The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), estimated that a pub closes every single day. Since 2000, more than 15,000 have called last orders. The government has this month proposed reforms to the licensing act which will allow pubs to stay open later, in a bid to promote economic growth.

The Bevy is determined to weather the storm. Part of the battle is simply “getting people through the door”, explains manager Tonia King. “People just don’t realise that we are here.”

For those that do, it’s invaluable. Take Taylor’s word for it. “It’s not like a normal pub,” she says, watching her kids paint acorns. “It’s a local to everyone around here. Everyone is family.”

HOW TO SAVE YOUR LOCAL PUB

Thinking about taking a closed or struggling pub into community ownership? It’s been done more than 180 times across the UK – and while it’s not easy, there’s plenty of help available. Here’s how to start, using guidance from support organisations.

1.Rally the community
As Pub is the Hub says, “local support is essentail from the outset”. Hold meetings, gather pledges, start a Facebook group and ask what people want from the pub.

2. Form a steering group
The Plunkett Foundation recommends creating “a small, committed steering group”. Bring together locals with different skills. This team will lead the project and liaise with the pub’s owners.

3.Get advice and structure
Seek support from Plunkett Foundation, Pub is The Hub, Power to Change or Locality. They’ll guide you through setting up a Community Benefit Society – the most common legal model for community pubs – allowing you to own assets, apply for grants, and issue community shares.

4.Plan and raise funds
Write a clear business plan. Mix community investment with grants or loans from bodies such as the Community Ownership Fund or social investors listed by Plunkett.

5. Secure and reopen
“The right premises are crucial,” urges the Plunkett plan. Buy the freehold if possible or secure a long-term lease. Once the doors reopen, make it a genuine hub – affordable, inclusive, and rooted in local life

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