Village pub a step closer to reopening thanks to £5,000 auction

The Radnor Arms Hotel in New Radnor closed in 2016 and has since fallen into a dilapidated state.

But passionate locals formed the Radnor Arms Action Group (RAAG) and bought the pub back in October for £115,000 at auction.

The Hub, a community enterprise, was formed in 2018, with the people behind that using other public facilities like the Old School Building in the village to open up a regular pop-up bar, as well as hosting various social events.

But now that the pub is back in the hands of the community, locals plan to revitalise the beloved watering hole and are making inroads into giving customers the opportunity to be able to once again partake in having ‘one more for the road’.

The target is to raise £150,000 to restore the pub to its former glory. Just under £120,000 has been pledged for community shares in Radnor Arms Community Benefit Society Limited so far, with a further £30,000 needed. Another £5,000 was put in the pot thanks to a festive fundraising scheme that was part of a wider reintroduction of the pub to the local community.

“The community working to return the Radnor Arms Hotel in New Radnor to life would like to thank everyone who came to the pre-Christmas public consultation open days, its fundraising art exhibition and its community tea and cake sharing,” said a spokesperson for the action group.

“We would also like to thank everyone who took part in the online auction, by bidding or donating items and experiences, or who contributed to our crowd funding website, which remains open.”

Over 350 people visited the Radnor Arms over the four days of public consultation at the end of November and beginning of December, coming from near and far – visitors came from the Radnor Forest and Radnor Valley, nearby Kington and Presteigne, Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells, and were joined by others from Symonds Yat, Birmingham, the Midlands and even London.

Close to 100 people played a role in organising and contributing to the open days and exhibition.

The online auction raised £5,305, with the auction site receiving over 9,250 page views.

There are several upcoming events in the pipeline, including locals taking over the community shop in Kington for a week, beginning on Wednesday, January 25. This is an opportunity to sell items to raise further funds to pay for the purchase and repair of the pub.

Everyone is invited to shop and or offer clean and saleable items. The community shop in Kington is located on High Street.

A photo competition is also being launched, to produce photos of the area around New Radnor at the end of each month, for a 2024 calendar which will be available for sale at the end of this year.

Some of the artwork on offer

People are invited to take part in an online questionnaire to help shape the future of the pub. The deadline to complete the questionnaire, for your views to be included in round one, is by January 20. The questionnaire will remain open after that date, but it is hoped answers can be gathered soon so that insight can inform plans and work can begin.

Artwork from the pre-Christmas exhibition is also still available for viewing and purchase at https://theradnorarmshotel.sumupstore.com. Pieces include work by Sally Hamer, Polly James, Chiara de Cabarrus, Michael Capstick, Jenny Chanter, Rachel Schwalm, Bob Rowberry, Joel Weekes, Imogen Reid, Julienne Braham, Jason Braham, Shelagh Popham, Jenny Burton, Susan Davies, Ken Moore, Jo Young, Sara Jane Harper, Richard Hayes, Charlie Hopkinson and Ruth Kirkby.

Community shares in the Radnor Arms Hotel are priced at £25 each. More details can be found on the website at www.theradnorarmshotel.com.

You can find out more about the pub and the action group’s plans on the hotel blog at https://radnor-arms.org/ or follow them on Instagram, at @theradnorarmshotel. The Just Giving page is also still open at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/theradnorarms.