A new scheme has been launched to help people own their local pub in parts of East Anglia.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Area has partnered with the Plunkett Foundation to help communities save pubs.

The partners will now be working with groups across the region to take ownership and operation of pubs and assets that are vacant or at risk of closure.

Plunket Foundation head of community business Claire Spendley said: “We are incredibly proud to support the combined authority in the delivery of a programme of support for community businesses in these historic market towns.

“Protecting and revitalising services is of vital importance, particularly given the vast population living in and around these market towns. Community-ownership offers a real lifeline to those communities desperate to save their local pub, shop or community hub.”

Money from the programme will enable Plunkett to deliver a dedicated support package to community groups in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, with a focus of revitalising assets in market towns and rural hinterlands. Plunkett will also manage the allocation of £800,000 to community groups on behalf of the authority.

Small grants will be awarded to community groups to cover costs of starting a business or opening a pub, including the cost of forming a benefit society, property valuations and surveys, legal fees and architect fees.

Follow-up bigger grants will be awarded to up to 15 groups which can demonstrate feasible plans and the ability to get money from other funding agencies and partners. This money will pay for costs such as purchase and refurbishment.

Combined authority market towns programme manager Domenico Cirillo said: “Supporting our market towns as they evolve to meet modern challenges is an absolute priority for the combined authority.

“In phase 1, we invested more than £13m into projects to help the towns realise their masterplans, improving amenities and public spaces, and to safely reopen our towns and high streets post-Covid.

“Phase 2 continues the good work, by targeting support into community businesses and social enterprises at the heart of town and village life, generating fresh vitality and direction, increasing resilience, and bringing assets back into the community.”

Pictured: 2019 opening of the community owned Three Tuns, Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire. Credit: Greg Butterworth.