The Angel closed in 2019 after various campaigns to keep it open and try to work with the owners to preserve the pub for the village. Even when it closed, it was a viable pub, much smaller than it had previously been but still a lively focal point for the village.
We want the community to own the property to protect it from change of use, and reopen it as a pub. But not just a pub, with community ownership comes a wider responsibility to provide community space that has been identified as a need in our village and surrounding area.
We have formed Debenham Angel Community Ltd, a Community Benefit Society regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We have a clear and practical plan to raise funds through a share offer to local people, grants from public bodies and potential loans if needed. With these funds we will buy the property, refurbish and equip it, engage an enthusiastic and experienced tenant to run the business and turn the pub into a commercial and community success.
In the heart of the village, we want as many people as possible to be proud of what we can achieve when we all pull together. This is not just saving a property for the sake of it. The pub was viable when it was forced to close. It can be a viable business again – profitable both from a financial perspective and a social capital one.