Shropshire village pub site registered as 'asset of community value'

Real ale campaigners Camra put in the request for The Lodge in Weston Rhyn, near Oswestry, and it has been placed on Shropshire Council's list. It means that if it were to be put up for sale the community would have first chance to buy it.

The restaurant, formerly The Top House Lodge pub, is owned by Oak Inns Properties, which had opposed the nomination and said it has no plans to sell the venue, although the leasehold was recently sold. It also said that the main use of the building is now as a restaurant, with the bar area ancillary to the restaurant.

In its nomination, Camra said The Lodge is the only community pub in the centre of the village – Weston Rhyn's other pub The Plough is more than half a mile away on the edge of the village. It also said the site offers TV sport, darts and pool, and has hosted community events as well as raising money for charity.

The Camra member who made the nomination also said the bar is used by many local people and that comments made on the TripAdvisor website showed that the business was "a valuable community asset", with one reviewer noting "this is not a pub offering curry, but an Indian restaurant offering a pub". The nomination was backed by Weston Rhyn Parish Council.

It is the second time in three years The Lodge had been nominated to become an asset of community value.

In November 2014 the parish council applied to have the building designated as a community asset to prevent the village from losing any more amenities. But on that occasion it was judged to be "highly unlikely" that it would be used as a community pub within the next five years, as a 10-year restaurant lease had been signed.

A year ago the pub was reopened as The Lodge Indian and Bangladeshi Restaurant, and following a change of management, it relaunched again this week, as a restaurant.