MEDIA RELEASE

WILTSHIRE VILLAGE’S SOS TO SAVE LOCAL PUB IS ANSWERED 11th May 2010

Villagers in Honeystreet in Pewsey, Wiltshire, have won a Lottery grant to save the future of their local pub and will have their story filmed for a prime-time BBC One TV series next year, it was announced today.

With 13 rural pubs in Britain closing each week*, the Honeystreet villagers last summer applied to Village SOS - a scheme by Big Lottery Fund and the BBC - to buck the trend and save their local, the Barge Inn, which was at risk of closure. After fighting off stiff competition from 24 other village business proposals across the UK, the Barge Inn Community Project has been announced today as one of the scheme’s six winners and will receive a Big Lottery Fund grant of £273,840 to make the villagers’ dreams of taking over the pub a reality.

Village SOS is responding to the plight of rural villages across the UK, and is supporting new community-led business ventures that will breathe new life into their areas, create new jobs and improve the quality of life for local people

The villagers will use the funding to purchase the Barge Inn’s lease and operate it as a social enterprise, securing its future at the heart of the local community. The venture will also help to support tourism in Honeystreet, which is well known for the local crop circle phenomena and popular canal system, which runs right by the 200-year-old inn. Complementary enterprises such as a village shop and craft and drama workshops will also operate within the pub, and employment and learning opportunities for the locals will be created, as well as training for people with learning disabilities.

Terry Kemp, Member of the Barge Inn Community Project Steering Group, said of the award: “We’re absolutely delighted. The project was conceived around the kitchen table by two individuals concerned about the pub’s future. What we’ve got now is a successful project that will answer the needs of the village and secure the future of an important community hub.”

Helping the villagers with the project will be their ‘Village Champion’ Sandra Bhatia, a talented project manager with a background in music events, who will move into Honeystreet for a year and use her experience to support the villagers in getting their community business up and running. The villagers chose to work with Sandra from a pool of experts found through a nationwide search by the BBC and Enterprise UK. She has been working with the project since November last year to develop their idea into a standout business proposal.

BBC One will document the village’s journey for a six-part series which promises to be gripping entertainment for viewers as they follow the ups and downs of the new village business, from start up to trading. The series is produced by BBC Cymru Wales and will be screened next year.

Accompanying the BBC series will be a major Learning Campaign which seeks to inspire other enterprising villages across the UK to take the bold step towards starting their own community business.

Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for the South West, said “Congratulations to the Barge Inn Community Project. It's a fantastic business idea that totally embodies what the Village SOS scheme is all about and I'm sure will be an inspiration to many others when the TV show airs next year."

To see a film of the Honeystreet Villagers talking about their project, visit: http://www2.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_village_sos?tab=2&

The other five winning village schemes are Future Newstead Enterprise in Nottingham; the Taste Tideswell Group in Derbyshire; Caistor Arts and Heritage Centre Group in Lincolnshire; West Wemyss Development Trust in Fife, Scotland; and Talgarth Mill Green Energy Group in Powys, Wales.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888

Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572

BBC Wales Communications: Jenny Walford:  029 2032 2373

Textphone:  0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• *13 rural pubs close each week. Source: British Beer and Pub Association http://www.beerandpub.com
• Village SOS is a joint initiative between the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) and the BBC to help six rural villages across the UK, regenerate their communities through brilliant new business ventures.
• Villages shortlisted through the programme in November 2009 were offered a development grant of up to £10,000, and chose a ‘Village Champion’ to work with to advance their ideas. In May 2010 six projects are being awarded Lottery funding of around £400,000 to make their project a reality. Their respective Village Champions are moving into the villages for a year to help them turn their business idea into a reality.
• BBC Wales is following the stories of the new rural enterprises from start up to trading for a major BBC One series. A major learning campaign will be launched alongside the series to enable other villages to use the learning and enthusiasm from the programme to set up their own community enterprises.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.  Big Lottery Fund Press Office 020 7211 1888   Out of Hours 07867 500 572
• BBC Press Office Jenny Walford:  029 2032 2373. Visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/villagesos/

PN 10-05-11

Emma Twyning

Press Officer

Big Lottery Fund

Tel: 0207 211 3839

www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

The Barge Inn Community Project and BBC Village SOS 2011

 

In September 2008 a community working group was formed to consider the development of a range of social and community business enterprises centred around the opportunity of the purchase of the lease of the Barge Inn Honey Street Nr Pewsey Wiltshire

 

Since then, The Barge Inn Community Project has leapt from strength to strength and has been short-listed for a major prime time BBC1 television show to be aired in 2011 called Village SOS.

 

 

 

 

BIG LOTTERY Press Release November 2009

WILTSHIRE VILLAGE SOS CALL

MOVES CLOSER TO BEING ANSWERED

A Wiltshire village is a step closer to finding out if they will secure up to £400,000 of Lottery money to set up a new community reviving enterprise and star in a major prime time BBC1 series, after making the shortlist for the Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS scheme.

Village SOS – an initiative by Big Lottery Fund and the BBC to inspire UK rural revival – aims to fund six rural villages to develop new business ventures that will breathe new life into their areas, create new jobs and improve the quality of life for local people.

Honeystreet, in the Vale of Pewsey, is one of 28 villages shortlisted today. A village focal point, the Barge Inn pub, is up for sale and is at risk of closure. However Barge Inn Community Project hopes to purchase the lease of the pub and operate it as a profitable social enterprise. The village has already seen a number of its amenities close down, including the shop and post office.

The project would rejuvenate the village by creating a community hub. It would also help support tourism in Honeystreet, which is well known because of the local crop circle phenomena and popular canal system. Complementary enterprises such as a village shop and craft and drama workshops would also operate within the pub. Employment opportunities would be created, as well as training for people with learning disabilities.

Terry Kemp, Member of the Barge Inn Community Project Steering Group, said: “We are in an area where all around us there are almost 40 pubs closing every week and our project’s aim is to ensure that our local pub, which is at the heart of our community, stays open. By taking over the Barge as a community run enterprise we aim to build on its function as a community facility – ‘the pub is the hub’ and also serves the international visitors that come to the area to see the crop circles.”

To help villages like Honeystreet, professionals – known as ‘Village Champions’ – found through a nationwide search run by the BBC and Enterprise UK, will live and work with the successful six villages for a year. BBC One will document the projects’ journey for a  six-part series which promises to be gripping entertainment for viewers as they follow the ups and downs as the Champion moves into their chosen village and work begins.

The 28 villages will be paired with a Village Champion through a unique ‘matchmaking’ conference and shortlisting process, which will see the villages interviewing potential candidates and inviting them to their villages, before choosing who to work with.

In May 2010, the final six villages will be announced and their respective Village Champions will move into the villages for a year to help them turn their business idea into a reality.

Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for the South West, said: “Honeystreet is now in the running to secure up to £400,000 of Lottery money to transform the fortunes of their local area. I am pleased to see such a promising idea make the shortlist but now the hard work begins, with the project facing the challenge of choosing a village champion and developing a business plan that will have a lasting impact in their community.”

Alongside the Village SOS series, there will be a major learning campaign* to help other villages use the learning and enthusiasm from the programme to take a bold step towards starting a new business that will regenerate their own communities.

www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/vsos_table.pdf 

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              020 7211 1888 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              020 7211 1888      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting    

Out of Hours - 07867 500 572 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              07867 500 572 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              07867 500 572      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

BBC Wales Communications: Jenny Walford:  029 2032 2373 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              029 2032 2373 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              029 2032 2373      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Village SOS public enquiries: 0844 88 88 677 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0844 88 88 677 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0844 88 88 677      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting                          

Textphone:  0845 6021 659 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0845 6021 659 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0845 6021 659      end_of_the_skype_highlighting      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website:

www.biglotteryfund.org.uk