Pub Hub funding to advance community services

Communities Minister Jake Berry has announced that at least 30 rural communities will benefit from new or expanded village services from libraries, shops to post offices all delivered by their local pub.

The £70,000 funding for the ‘Pub is The Hub’ initiative will encourage rural pubs to widen their offering beyond food and drink that not only helps pubs to thrive but also helps to bring communities together. The new investment brings total funding for Pub is The Hub to £390,000, having first made funding available in 2012.

As well as bringing more services into pubs and improving communities, the expected 36 rural projects will create an estimated 30 full time and 59 part-time or voluntary jobs, benefiting 31,400 local users.

Berry said: “Our great British pubs are not only places for local people to get together over a pint, being at the heart of their communities they are perfectly placed to deliver valuable services, especially in rural areas. From postal facilities to community playgrounds, Pub is The Hub provides fantastic support to licensees wishing to diversify, ensuring their pubs are both thriving and firmly rooted in their local communities.”

John Longden, chief executive of Pub is The Hub, said: “The government’s support for the Community Services Fund has been essential to ensure that we can get much needed investment and support to just some of the thriving pubs and their community-minded licensees that want to go the extra mile to support their communities. We are always grateful for the faith the government has shown in our initiative but even more so for the amazing small enterprises who take the plunge into diversification to support their neighbourhoods.”