We saved our pub

We talk to Nick Beecroft about the mission and village vision to save The Half Moon Inn.

What has been your particular involvement in the campaign as Chairman?

Well, mainly coordination and presentation -otherwise, as I’m not a lawyer, or a property or hospitality expert, I would have been a bit useless on the Committee!

Were you surprised by the generosity and backing you and the other members received from the local community?

A little, but this is a village with a great sense of community spirit, so I wasn’t entirely surprised.

In your opinion what makes a great country pub?

Decent food, beer and wine and, just as importantly, a welcoming smile behind the bar.

What role does the pub play in the community?

It serves an important role as part of the ‘invisible social glue’ holding the community together; we have sports clubs and the social club, which also contribute to this, but if the Half Moon had become part of a shop chain, or had been turned into residential accommodation, a little part of the village’s spirit would have died.

Now that the goal has been achieved, what’s next for The Half Moon Inn and what changes and improvements can villagers and visitors expect to see?

I’m delighted to report that, following a really robust and rigorous selection process run by David Vickerstaff, Mark Fairweather, Jamie Kirkman and Adele Burke, during which more than fourty applications for the tenancy have been examined, we have chosen a really great prospective tenant and as of now, (11th June), the legal process with respect to the tenancy agreement is going through, with the first week or so of July as a realistic expectation for an opening date, following a couple of week’s closure, during which the tenant wants to make some design and cosmetic improvements.

A number of significant improvements and refurbishments have already been completed, with dozens of volunteers kindly helping to virtually totally refurbish the 1st floor residential accommodation, (one last push needed here-please see the pub website http://www.savethehalfmoon.co.uk/ for details on how to volunteer). In addition, the pub has been totally re-wired, with nice new lighting also put in place, the flat roof has been renewed, and planning permission, (and listed building permission), has been granted for us to refurbish the courtyard and charming brick outhouse on the Haywards Heath Road side, such that we can create many more outside covers for summer use.

Much of this work has been accomplished at greatly reduced rates, or via donation, from very generous local tradesmen and businesses. The actual expenditure incurred by the Community Benefit Society, which owns the pub, has been well within budget.