Following a lively council meeting on 11th December, Bigbury Parish Council has nominated The Royal Oak as an ‘Asset of Community Value’ with South Hams District Council under the terms of the Localism Act 2011. It will now be up to the officers at SHDC to decide whether to accept the nomination – by 10th February 2014. If successful, this move would give the local community 6 weeks to say if they are interested in bidding to buy the asset. If a local community group expresses an interest in buying the property on the open market, SHDC must notify the owner who will not be allowed to sell the property for a period of 6 months or until such time as the community has confirmed its readiness to bid, whichever is the shorter. After the 6-month moratorium, the owner is free to sell to whomever they choose.
Obviously, raising the funds to buy and successfully manage a country pub under current market conditions is a huge challenge. However, if you want to help save the pub and sustain Bigbury Village, please sign up to the petition which is being organised by Karen Lawrence – karen.lawrence@internet-today.co.uk . Forms are available in local shops.
Further details about The Community Right to Bid can be found on the SHDC website – http://www.southhams.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=2747&p=0
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