Village residents hoping to buy their local pub

Residents in a Lincolnshire village are trying to raise money to buy and reopen their local pub.

The Ship Inn at Surfleet Seas End, near Spalding, closed more than a year ago and is on the market for £550,000.

It has recently been listed as an Asset of Community Value, which gives local groups a chance to delay the sale of the property and place a community bid.

Mark Newlands, from the community group Shipmates, said the pub was a centre of activity, "not just for eating and drinking, it was a place to socialise".

Newlands said the pub hosted various events that brought locals together.

"Sadly, we can't do that anymore," he added.

"There would be celebrations there. There would be wakes there. There would be classes run there."

The group has held open meetings to gauge interest and discuss what people would like to see in the pub, describing the feedback as "positive".

It said 340 people had registered their support and it was now trying to raise enough money to submit a community bid.

"If we could get it back and get it reopened and extend its use beyond just being a place to eat and drink, it would serve as a really central part of the community once again," Newlands said.

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