'Groundswell of support' as nearly £50,000 already raised to save Shropshire pub

A community group – Friends of the Horse and Jockey – was formed last year when the pub near Wem was closed when Dawn Davies, who ran the pub with her husband Derren and daughters Taylor and Kaitlin, revealed the 'heartbreaking' decision to terminate their lease as a result of soaring energy prices and the cost of living.

Now the group has started its fundraising efforts and has five months to raise the funds to purchase the Horse and Jockey, in Northwood, with the current asking price sitting at £395,000.

The group held its first presentation of plans to the community this week and spokeswoman Louise Paton said: "We have had incredibly positive feedback.

"More than 20 people turned up for the first of our presentations, from Northwood and surrounding villages.

"We had pleasures for thousands of pounds and we are nearly at the £50,000 mark and we are aiming to get to £100,000 to £150,000 with pledges and convert them into shares."

"Once you get to that mark you become eligible for grants and loans from charitable and co-operative organisations, so that's really important and our first target.

"But we have only just started with the share pledging and so we are really hopeful of achieving our goals. there's every possibility of that."

She added: "We have until the end of May to raise the money and we have worked really hard to gain public awareness and community interest.

"There is clearly a huge ground swell of support for the project so we really hope that we achieve our target and have success in May.

"We have had messages of support and offers of money from people living abroad as well, along with people with fond memories of the Horse and Jockey from when they lived here as children or when they have been on holiday on Shropshire.

"We have been very surprised but very pleased with the amount of support we have had. everything is in place and we are ready for the fundraising part of the campaign."

To find out more about how you can help the group, which is now a fully-fledged Community Benefit Society, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/798735351174198