In disappointing news, the Council has rejected the PC's attempt to renew the pub's status as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). ACV status gives the community a collective 'right to bid' on the leasehold or freehold, should either be made available.

The pub was made an ACV in 2020 but only the leasehold has subsequently been made available, the terms of which were deemed unacceptable to the community. Hence, any community bid would only be triggered if the freehold was put up for sale. However, despite the community's position on this being made explicitly clear throughout the recent planning issue, the decision-makers have taken this as a 'lack of interest' from the community. They also appear to give undue weight to the owners' claims, several of which have either been refuted or rejected by both the Council's own Planning Department and the Planning Inspectorate.

Unfortunately, ACV legislation means that the decision cannot be appealed, which makes the assessment all the more frustrating. Since the pub must remain a pub, the stalemate remains.