Cheers! New Inn is the county's first community pub

CELEBRATIONS are in the air in Norton Lindsey as campaigning residents finally completed the purchase of their once threatened village pub this week.

A group of villagers, who call themselves the Salvation Squad, have been striving to raise the cash to buy the New Inn after it was put up for sale by Enterprise Inns in the summer.

Their fundraising drive proved so successful that the group actually beat their target of £300,000.

The extra money will be used to pay for stamp duty and start-up costs, meaning residents will have to borrow less to get Warwickshire’s first community pub up and running.

The situation marks quite a turnaround for the New Inn which faced an uncertain future in the summer.

Back in July residents feared that if they failed to find the money, the New Inn would most likely be sold to a developer who had no interest in maintaining it as a pub.

With a vision to re-open it as a community hub for the village with a range of facilities, residents set about their fundraising mission.

Full story in this week’s Herald.