Great news for the village. Although the pub closed last week, it is hoped it will reopen in a few months time.

See message from Martin Craddock below.

Keep watching this space for further updates.

“There has been speculation for a while now about the viability and future of the Cherington Arms so I just wanted to let you know that I am in the process of buying it in order to preserve it as a village pub and prevent it being converted for residential use. That is my sole objective.

As I’m sure you know, the pub has been losing money and is in a very sorry state behind the scenes. This means that a significant investment is required simply to make it safe and comfortable for tenants to live in. I’m going to call that ‘Phase 1’ because I believe that it would be impossible to attract new tenants in its current condition. Therefore, unfortunately, it will have to stay closed until the work can be completed and new tenants found, although I’m hopeful that this will take less than six months.

After that, the pub would require a further and much larger sum to improve it and make it attractive and that may be a case of throwing good money after bad. You don’t need me to tell you that these are tough times for pubs. Over 150 were shut down in England and Wales in the first three months of 2023 and, in 2022, 386 pubs were lost for good (figures from the British Beer and Pub Association). So, while my aim is to complete Phase 1 and secure good tenants I really can’t speculate at this point as to whether there will be a ‘Phase 2’. But at least we will still have a village pub.

I aim to provide regular updates over the coming months to keep you up to date about how it’s going.”

Martin Craddock