Aldwick residents pledge funds towards purchase of the former Ship Inn pub

Patricia Macey and Roger Beam, chairman of the Friends of the Ship Inn

The community is raising £500,000 to purchase the freehold of the former Ship Inn, which faces becoming a food shop.

Roger Beam, chairman of the Friends of the Ship Inn, said: “A high target to be sure, but it can be done if we have the will to do it.”

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Residents gather outside the former Ship Inn in Aldwick

People at the meeting were asked to fill in a ‘beer mat pledge’, detailing what they would be willing to spend on shares in the pub.

Mr Beam said: “The results were staggering and truly encouraging. The people at that meeting pledged £42,650.”

Added to the £65,300 which was previously pledged, he said this was ‘a great start’.

A share issue prospectus will be published in December, before the share issue launches in January.

The former pub was converted into a food store but has now stood empty for two years

Mr Beam said: “The meeting on Tuesday night generated some great comments and ideas from the floor about the type of tenant who might run the pub’s day to day operation; the food people wanted to see; the added income streams we might generate; and how people will get to the pub.

“All of this is grist to the share issue prospectus we are writing now.”

The website theshipinnaldwick.co.uk will also be going live soon.

See more on this story: Residents’ ambition to revive former Aldwick pub is ‘under threat’

Residents support plans to resurrect the former Ship Inn pub in Aldwick at packed meeting

Campaign to restore former Aldwick pub gathers pace: ‘We want a hub for the community’