WIREDGOV

Visiting The Shoulder of Mutton in Kirkby Overblow Mr Neill met local residents to hear why they combined the local village shop with the village pub. Villagers explained the merger created a successful business and also preserved a vital local asset, retaining local employment and providing the community with an important focal point.

Communities Minister Bob Neill said:

"We all know the name of our local pub, and we want to give people the opportunity to run it. They are often at the heart of our rural communities, and play an important role in bringing a community together.

"This government is committed to ensuring that citizens and communities can get on and do things for themselves, which for too long the stranglehold of bureaucracy has stopped."

Community groups will be given the opportunity to take over closing or failing pubs and run them as community pubs. Under new powers in the 'Community right to build' initiative, to be included in the forthcoming Localism bill, communities will bid to take on local assets and facilities where they are up for sale - giving real power back to them.

There are many great examples of the community stepping in when their pub is under threat:

• The Old Crown in Hesket Newmarket, Cumbria: www.theoldcrownpub.co.uk (external link)
• The Plough Inn, Horbling, Lincolnshire - owned by the parish council: www.theploughinnhorbling.co.uk (external link)
• The Jolly Farmer in Cookham Dean, Buckinghamshire
• The Pineapple in Kentish Town, London
• The Robin Hood in Cragg Vale, West Yorkshire.

You can find out more about the Shoulder of Mutton pub at www.shoulderatkirkbyoverblow.com (external link).