30 January 2026 - A recap on this month's Open Meeting

The Open Meeting and Update on The Lamb pub was held at Stoke Goldington Village Hall on Thursday 22 January 2026. We were blown away by how many people attended - thank you!

Here is a summary of what was discussed:

Richard Wimmer opened the meeting, thanking everyone for attending. He reminded everyone of the initial interest and feedback from the community through a questionnaire earlier this year, which received 130 responses. He then introduced The Lamb Steering Group members, including Stacey Rawlings, Fraser Bull, Nick Allen and Liz Male, each with their respective roles and backgrounds. (We are lucky to have on the steering group very experienced experts in areas such as finance, retail and hospitality, marketing and town planning).

Why bother with a village pub?

Liz outlined the meeting agenda and presented the research which shows the significant benefits of having a village pub (well beyond a drinking establishment!). She talked about the year-on-year growth of rural community businesses, including community-owned pubs, and their economic and social benefits. Liz highlighted the jobs created by community-owned pubs, especially for young people, and the very high survival rates of these businesses which help to create vital social hubs that reduce isolation, especially for older residents.

Liz also pointed out the research showing a link between thriving village pubs and house prices. Having a good village pub can boost house prices by 7-10% - and unfortunately, a closed pub can negatively impact property values.

Talking about how difficult it can be sometimes to visualise what The Lamb could really look like if it had a proper refurbishment, Liz showed some 'before' and 'after' photos she had created.

The journey so far

Nick then stood up to talk about the journey so far, starting with the initial survey that provided a clear mandate to move forward with the project. He explained about the formation of the steering committee and the support we have received from Plunkett UK at every step.

Nick gave details of the professional report and the formal, regulated and evidence-based RICS Red Book valuation, as well as the legal entity setup, and the recent offer made to the pub's owners. He explained the current status of negotiations with the owners, who are hoping for a higher development value for the property.

Planning issues

In order to debunk some myths and misunderstandings on planning issues, Stacey explained the planning laws that now require planning permission for any use other than a public house. She explained the Asset of Community Value (ACV) protection, and the various planning policy constraints on the site, including the conservation area, flood zones, and local planning policies that support the retention of village pubs.

Ultimately, the onus is on the landowner to prove there is no community interest in keeping the pub. Given the clear levels of community support so far, she expressed her strong view that getting planning for the site (for new homes or any other uses) would be very difficult, time consuming and expensive.

Finance and fundraising

Fraser took everyone through the estimated costs of acquiring and refurbishing the pub, including legal fees, repairs, and initial stock.

The only money we have so far is what has come from our own fundraising events. Those funds are extremely helpful to cover our basic expenses for now.

He explained the potential future funding sources, including community benefit society shares, donations, grants, and (maybe) commercial loans. These methods will be used to cover the costs of purchasing the Lamb (along with the garden and car park). He also talked about various tax-efficient schemes for residents to invest in community benefit society shares, such as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

What happens next?

Back to Nick again, who finished the presentation by showing a hypothetical timeline for buying and refurbishing the pub, if and when a deal could be done.

He explained that, based on the experience of hundreds of other community-owned pubs across the UK, it can typically take two or three years for a community to secure the purchase of their local pub - so our current situation is not unusual, and we are committed to continuing negotiations with the owners.

He also emphasised the importance of your continued support and participation in fundraising events and open meetings in the meantime.

Questions and answers

In the Q&A session afterwards, people asked for more details on the tax benefits of investing in The Lamb, and made excellent points on the time needed to refurbish the building and the challenges of securing a willing seller. Questions covered a wide range of topics, including the role of local breweries, the experiences of other local community-owned pubs, and the impact of council tax and business rates. Richard highlighted the Easy Fundraising initiative, which allows the community to support the project through online shopping.

The meeting concluded with another round of thanks, and a raffle draw for three bottles of wine.

There was also a feedback survey which reinforced just how much support there is for this campaign to save our village pub - read about the results here.

And if you missed the meeting and would like to see a copy of the presentation, please click on the button below.