Edenham: Call to open village pub
A PARISH council is urging a brewery to re-open a closed village pub.
The once popular Five Bells at Edenham now looks like a "shanty town" with metal shutters boarding the windows after time was called on the venue just before Christmas.
The building is owned by pub chain Punch Taverns, and has now been put on the market after the previous managers decided to leave the pub.
Edenham has few facilities, including a post office and a vibrant church, but villagers have been left reeling by the loss of the pub.
Members of Edenham Parish Council, which also covers Grimsthorpe, Scottlethorpe and Elsthorpe, are now writing to the brewery to bring back the "heart" of the village.
Chairman of the parish council Jean Joyce says the village has lost a lot of facilities over the last 50 years and that the closed pub is giving off the wrong impression of the village.
Coun Joyce said: "Metal shutters have been put over the windows and it looks like a shanty town. It has spoilt the look of the village.
"We are desperate for someone to take it on. It is such a shame as the pub used to be a thriving business."
Coun Joyce said that Edenham is classed as a non-sustainable village, which means that South Kesteven District Council would limit building developments in the area.
She said: "I was married in the church 55 years ago and the village has not improved since then. If anything it has taken a backward step."
Owner of Edenham Post Office, Andrea Gandy, 39, of Main Street, said: "It is really disappointing to see it boarded up at the moment."
A spokesman for Punch Taverns said: "We regularly review our estate to ensure that our pubs are maximising their potential and, following such a review, we have decided to sell the freehold of the Five Bells.
"We are talking to a number of interested parties and hope that it will be taken on by a member of the local community and will continue to trade as pub."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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