13 May 2026 - Change in law gives our campaign a major boost

The new English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 became law at the end of April. It’s a big deal for campaigns like ours.

For example, did you know that:

We now have 10 years of ACV protection for the pub

The pub’s designation as an “Asset of Community Value” (ACV) has automatically been extended to 10 years.

ACV protection means that the local community legally has a say in what happens to the pub, the car park and gardens.

We also now know that, in the worst-case scenario, if The Lamb remains closed for another nine years, the community can reapply for the ACV to be renewed for a further 10 years and the fact the pub was closed during that time will not affect the success of the ACV renewal.

We now have a “Community Right to Buy”

Before the new Act, if an initial bid was accepted by the owners, we could only have six months to prepare and raise the money – and even if we did all that, the owner could decide not to sell the pub to the community after all.

In fact, many other local villages spent months fundraising only to be rejected in favour of developers or private buyers.

Now we have a legal first right of refusal. It gives us a genuine preferential position. Owners, developers and other prospective purchasers will all know that a serious community campaign cannot simply be brushed aside.

It is now harder politically, planning-wise, and potentially legally, for valued pubs to disappear into speculative redevelopment where there is strong evidence of viable community use.

We now have more time to raise funds

The period during which an Asset of Community Value cannot be sold has been doubled, extended from 6 months to up to 12 months.

This is to help give communities more time to raise funds. During that 12 month period, the owners have to maintain (or improve) the asset’s condition.

What if there was a disagreement on the value of the pub?

In that situation, Milton Keynes Council’s valuation office or a specialist independent valuer would decide on the open market value – and we would expect the result to be a similar to the RICS valuation we commissioned last year. So no more inflated numbers!

In summary, the government has now made it clear that it sees pubs as community infrastructure. That aligns perfectly with our vision for The Lamb.

So while nobody should assume success is guaranteed, the balance of power has moved noticeably closer to communities.

And that gives campaigns like ours a much stronger footing than we had before.

If you’re interested to know more about the implications of these new laws, we will be publishing more detailed Q&As soon.