Community pub bidding to buy its building

A community pub in Brighton which has proven an asset to parents and children across the area, now has the opportunity to buy its building.

The Bevy pub in Moulsecoomb opened its doors in December 2014, four years after the old Bevendean pub closed.

Warren Carter, from the Bevy Committee, said it had not always been easy but the pub is thriving more than ever.

He said: "We've had our ups and downs. At Christmas things were really, really tough, but we've managed to turn it around - I think we turned it around because we are a community pub."

Explaining that the Bevy's "unique selling point" is its community events, Carter said they do a number of activities including a senior's club, monthly disability disco and a memory moments dementia café.

"All these things are brilliant for the community but they also do bring in business," he added.

They also do family Thursdays which involves free activities such as den building for children, who are given a free meal.

Parents who frequent the Bevy said they love the sense of community.

Paige Heather said the children "get to experience friendships, new activities every week, different types of food, and they just enjoy it".

For Sasha McDonnell, it is important that the children all "speak to each other, know each other, go to school together".

The Bevy reflects a growing trend of community pubs across the South East.

Plunkett UK, a charity supporting rural community businesses across the UK, said it had supported 35 community-owned pubs to begin trading in the region.

It is also aware of 46 other communities currently or recently exploring community ownership.

Chief executive, James Alcock, was full of praise for the Bevy for doing an "amazing job, not just to get through a difficult trading period, but to trade with significant impact as well".

There are other success stories in the region.

Just this month, residents in Amberley raised £750,000 to buy The Sportsman in Rackham Road, while The George, in Bethersden, Kent, continues to thrive after relaunching in May 2023.

Shiv Lewis, general manager of the Garibaldi community pub in Redhill, Surrey, believes these assets should be viewed in the context of an "alarming number" of pub closures across Britain.

She said: "People are looking at the pubs as real estate, as opposed to what they really do bring to a community.

"I think community pubs which are popping up all across the country, are showing what that model means, which is creating a space that makes you feel welcome, that encourages you to come out."

The Bevy's landlord, East Brighton Trust, intends to sell the building this month.

In response, the community has launched an Asset of Community Value (ACV) application, which, if successful, would help prevent the pub from being sold for at least six months and give the community valuable time to raise the money.

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