Reopening the Rose and Crown
A Community-Ownership Inside Story
A little while back I wrote an article called Talking to Strangers sharing my passion for pubs and the fear that we’re losing them. Since writing it, I’ve met and had feedback from quite a large number of people who love pubs.
This led me to write, research and share ideas and examples of community-owned pubs, pubs where the community had come together to reverse a pub closure and save a treasured amenity. As I started writing about community-owned pubs people were very generous with their time and insights. It is clearly something close to people’s hearts.
Pubs are where we meet, spend evenings out, stop by for lunch, and get to know people. When they are gone, we miss them. And pubs are closing at an alarming rate. In 2023 alone, 509 pubs closed across the UK, resulting in the loss of over 6,000 jobs, driven by rising energy costs, inflation, and reduced disposable income amid the cost-of-living crisis (British Beer and Pub Association, as cited in Plunkett Foundation, 2024).
The Rose and Crown, a 17th-century coaching inn at the heart of Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, has stood empty since its closure in 2023, leaving a void in the village’s social fabric. Despite these challenging circumstances, it was a pleasure and an education to talk to Matthew Burke, one of a small group who are the catalyst for the fightback, the movement to reopen the Rose and Crown.
In 2024, a group of local residents, inspired by a shared vision to revive this cherished community hub, embarked on a journey to purchase and reopen the pub through community ownership. Spearheaded by Matthew and three other villagers, the initiative has faced significant challenges, from financial hurdles to complex negotiations with the property owner.
In this article I explore the process, the role of the Plunkett Foundation, the significance of the Community Benefit Society (CBS) model, and the ongoing obstacles faced by the Nympsfield community in their quest to save the Rose and Crown.
It is an insider’s view, and my thanks and admiration go to Matthew and the Nympsfield community.
The Genesis of a Community-Led Initiative
So how did they get started?
Well, it all began with four people in a WhatsApp group. It is surprising what a small, dedicated group can achieve. The group was created to discuss the possibility of community ownership of the Rose and Crown, and recognizing the pub’s role as a social and cultural anchor, they decided to explore reviving it.
Two questions drove them:
Why not give it a go? And
If not us, who?
The first step was to research ownership models, leading them to the Plunkett Foundation, a UK-based charity dedicated to supporting rural enterprises and combatting rural decline.
The Role of the Plunkett Foundation
The Plunkett Foundation has been instrumental in guiding the Nympsfield group.
Established in 1919, the foundation supports rural communities by providing advice, resources, and expertise to help establish and sustain community-owned businesses, particularly pubs, shops, and other vital services (Plunkett Foundation, 2025). The foundation’s mission is to empower rural communities to address challenges such as depopulation and loss of local amenities by fostering cooperative and community-led enterprises.
For the Rose and Crown initiative, the Plunkett Foundation offered initial free support, including a half-day consultation with an advisor who had successfully saved his own village pub. The group joined the foundation’s membership program, gaining access to resources, templates, and a network of experts.
This support was crucial in navigating the complexities of setting up a legal structure and developing a viable business plan. The foundation’s guidance on community engagement and funding strategies helped the group build momentum and credibility. For instance, Plunkett’s “More Than a Pub” program, which ran until March 2021, supported 60 communities in England to bring pubs into community ownership, accounting for nearly 50% of all community-owned pubs in the UK at the time (Plunkett Foundation, 2021).
The Community Benefit Society Model
Central to the initiative was the decision to establish the Rose and Crown as a Community Benefit Society (CBS), a legal structure registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A CBS is a not-for-profit entity designed to serve the community rather than maximize shareholder profits. It operates on a one-member, one-vote principle, ensuring democratic governance and equality among members (Financial Conduct Authority, 2024).
This structure includes an “asset lock,” meaning that if the society dissolves, any profits remaining after shareholders recover their investments are reinvested into the community or other community-focused organizations with similar asset locks. The CBS model offers significant advantages for community projects. Its not-for-profit status makes it attractive to grant-making bodies and funders who prioritize long-term community benefits. Community-owned pubs using this model have a remarkable 99% success rate, with no recorded closures since the Plunkett Foundation began tracking in 2014 (Plunkett Foundation, as cited in Positive News, 2024).
For the Rose and Crown, adopting this structure enabled the group to apply for grants and demonstrate to potential investors that funds would remain within the community, enhancing the project’s appeal (Financial Conduct Authority, 2024).
Steps Toward Community Ownership
The Nympsfield group followed a structured approach to mobilize support and resources:
Community Survey: The team conducted a survey to gauge interest in saving the pub and to understand the community’s vision for its future. The results confirmed strong local support for a community-owned pub.
Public Meetings: Two oversubscribed public meetings were held in the village hall to share survey results and recruit volunteers. Over 30 residents signed up to contribute in areas such as business planning, communications, grant applications, and building management. These meetings fostered a sense of unity and common purpose, leveraging the diverse skills within the village.
Working Group Formation: Working groups were established to distribute responsibilities, ensuring tasks like developing a business plan, creating a share offer document, applying for grants, organising and delivering fundraising events and managing communications were handled efficiently.
Business Plan and Share Offer: A robust business plan was crafted, outlining the pub’s operational and financial strategy. In September 2024, the group launched a share offer, which was awarded the Community Share Standard mark, inviting residents to invest in the CBS. The campaign raised £300,000 from 420 investors by February 2025. An additional £100,000 was secured through a members’ loan scheme, fundraising and grants, bringing the total funds to £400,000.
Community Engagement and Events: The communications team built a strong online presence through a website and social media, raising the project’s profile. Events like a pop-up pub in the pub’s car park and opening the pub for one evening in January created memorable experiences and demonstrated public engagement, strengthening grant applications.
Financial and Structural Challenges
Despite raising sufficient funds to purchase the pub, valued at £350,000, and having their offer accepted the initiative faced a significant setback. The Rose and Crown, a Grade II listed historic coaching inn and registered Asset of Community Value, includes a detached stables block (also listed), which the owner intended to sell separately to a developer for £200,000.
The developer’s offer for the stables was contingent on planning permission for conversion to a three-bedroom house, but when their planning application was withdrawn they subsequently withdrew their offer. The pub’s owner then “unaccepted” the community’s offer, insisting on selling both the pub and stables together for £550,000, a sum beyond the group’s current resources. This mirrors a broader challenge in urban areas, where 52% of community pub projects fail due to private competition for pub buildings, with some urban pubs costing up to £950,000 (Plunkett Foundation, 2022).
This development highlights a key challenge of community ownership: navigating complex property transactions and owner expectations. The group is now exploring creative solutions to unlock the purchase of the pub, with ongoing support and guidance from Plunket Foundation .
To put this challenge in a broader context, the Plunkett Foundation recommends a Community Right to Buy[MB1] , as exists in Scotland. This gives communities first refusal on pub buildings, which could alleviate such challenges (Plunkett Foundation, 2022). This something that has moved forward.
The inclusion of community-owned pubs in the recent King's Speech as a Labour Party pledge looks to be a positive development. Labour's proposal to enhance the Right to Buy for community groups aims to protect pubs, often vital social hubs, from closure or redevelopment by enabling locals to collectively purchase and manage them. The mood music is positive, with the UK government recognizing pubs as more than just businesses but as cornerstones of social cohesion.
Conversely, the Labour government also scrapped the Community Ownership Fund that was previously in place. The fund was launched in 2021 launched with £150 million to support community efforts to save local assets like pubs. It was scrapped In December 2024 with unallocated millions withdrawn. It had been awarding grants of around £300,000 to projects like the Rose and Crown. Its withdrawal is a big loss.
Community ownership is nothing if not challenging.
Broader Challenges of Community Ownership
The Rose and Crown case reflects broader challenges faced by community-led initiatives.
First, financial constraints are a significant barrier. Raising substantial capital through community shares and loans requires widespread support and effective communication, which can be time-intensive. In 2019, 19 newly opened community pubs raised £3.7 million collectively, illustrating the scale of funding needed (Plunkett Foundation, as cited in Rural Services Network, 2020).
Second, legal and administrative complexities, such as establishing a CBS and securing grants, demand expertise and persistence. The Plunkett Foundation notes that tailored business advice and peer mentoring are critical for success, yet many groups struggle to access sufficient volunteer capacity (Plunkett Foundation, 2022).
Third, external factors like property owner decisions or planning restrictions can derail progress, as seen in Nympsfield.
Finally, sustaining community enthusiasm and volunteer commitment over time is critical but challenging, particularly when setbacks occur (Aiken et al., 2016).
Conclusion
The effort to save the Rose and Crown demonstrates both the potential and the challenges of community ownership. The Plunkett Foundation’s support and the CBS model have been pivotal in mobilizing resources and fostering community cohesion. While the group’s fundraising success and strong local support are commendable, the owner’s refusal to sell the pub independently of the stables underscores the unpredictability of such ventures.
It’s true in life that nothing worth doing is ever easy. The Nympsfield community remains determined, exploring creative options to achieve their goal. Their journey highlights the resilience and ingenuity required to preserve rural community hubs in the face of significant obstacles. With community-owned pubs showing a 100% survival rate since records began, their model offers hope for sustaining vital social spaces (Plunkett Foundation, as cited in Rural Services Network, 2020).
For the Rose and Crown and the Nympsfield community it is a case of “watch this space”. The answers to the challenges they face are already forming.
For other communities facing closure of their pub, all is not lost. There is a way forward for those with determination, resilience and an innate community spirit.
References
Aiken, M., Cairns, B., Taylor, M., & Moran, R. (2016). Community businesses in England: Meeting the challenges of hard-to-reach communities. Power to Change. https://www.powertochange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Community-Businesses-in-England-Meeting-the-Challenges.pdf
Financial Conduct Authority. (2024). Community benefit societies. https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/registered-societies-introduction/community-benefit-societies
Plunkett Foundation. (2021). The future needs of the community pub sector. https://plunkett.co.uk/the-future-needs-of-the-community-pub-sector/[](https://plunkett.co.uk/the-future-needs-of-the-community-pub-sector/)
Plunkett Foundation. (2022). New research: Call for community rights reform to help save urban pubs. https://plunkett.co.uk/new-research-call-for-community-rights-reform-to-help-save-urban-pubs/[](https://plunkett.co.uk/new-research-call-for-community-rights-reform-to-help-save-urban-pubs/)
Plunkett Foundation. (2024). Community pubs: The headline grabbers. https://plunkett.co.uk/community-pubs-the-headline-grabbers/[](https://plunkett.co.uk/community-pubs-headline-grabbers/)
Plunkett Foundation. (2025). About us. https://plunkett.co.uk/about-us/Positive News. (2024, March 5). All hands to the pumps: The colourful rise of community-owned pubs. https://www.positive.news/society/all-hands-to-the-pumps-the-colourful-rise-of-community-owned-pubs/[](https://www.positive.news/society/the-colourful-rise-of-community-owned-local-pubs/)
Rural Services Network. (2020, November 2). Plunkett releases key reports into community pubs and shops. https://www.rsnonline.org.uk/plunkett-releases-key-reports-into-community-pubs-and-shops[](https://www.rsnonline.org.uk/plunkett-releases-key-reports-into-community-pubs-and-shops)
Further Information
If you want to learn more about the progress of community ownership of Rose and Crown, the latest information (including how to get involved) are available on their Nympsfield Community Pub website.
Matthew has written updates on LinkedIn which chart the Rose and Crown journey.
The Origins of Community-Ownership for the Rose and Crown
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank Matthew Burke for the generous amount of time he spent with me sharing the story, explaining the process and kindly correcting my inadequate drafts. I’d also like to thank Amy Proto, Veronica Parfitt and Rebecca Pearch of Nympsfield Community Pub for their kind support. Thanks too to Jason Whiffin who kindly made the introductions which started the conversation.
Footnote
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