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
Out of Hours - 07867 500 572
BBC Wales Communications: Jenny Walford: 029 2032 2373
Village SOS public enquiries: 0844 88 88 677
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website:
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk