Our Project
Our chance to buy The Five Bells.
January 2023 presented the Nether Wallop community with the opportunity it had been waiting for: A chance to buy the pub and bring it back to life for the community.
Nether Wallop wants its pub back!
Community Collaboration
What seemed a daunting task to start with quickly became a manageable one thanks to help from the village, others with experience of running pubs, and Plunkett UK who specialise in supporting community projects across the UK. Both Nether Wallop Parish Council and Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) have been supportive from the start.
Buying the pub
Our timescale is tight. Thanks to The Five Bells being listed as an Asset of Community Value, the community has the exclusive right to purchase till June 2024. Our current estimate of the total purchase and refurbishment cost is £1m which we plan to raise through a community share offer and grants.
Renovations
Once acquired, we will start detailed planning for the renovation.
The Five Bells is a Grade II listed building which will require us to work closely with Test Valley Borough Council and develop plans for a viable community business while retaining the building’s valuable heritage. We will mix familiarity with its past with its new purpose as a hub for our community.
As this is a community project, we want to support local businesses and employment as much as possible. Volunteers will also play an important role in the renovation.
What's Next?
Making the most of the site
Most of the land to the rear of the The Five Bells lies outside the Settlement Boundary for Nether Wallop. This places significant limitations on any development behind the pub – which is ideal for our project!
We want to use the land behind The Five Bells as an outdoor space for the community. As well as somewhere to have a drink or meet for a coffee, we want to have a community garden where produce can be grown for the pub kitchen or sold in a community shop. The site backs onto a stream which flows into the Wallop Brook and is already a great wildlife area. We look forward to developing these and other ideas with the community.
Running The Five Bells as a community pub
We look forward to the day when we can finally re-open the doors of the Five Bells. Our business plan shows that The Five Bells can be a viable community business for the long term.
This long-term future will require excellent day-to-day management. To ensure our success we intend to recruit a professional manager who will be responsible for running the business and meeting the targets that the Management Committee set. We will also recruit an experienced chef who can deliver a menu that features high-quality, locally sourced produce.
Creating employment opportunities
Kitchen, Serving, Bar and Cleaning staff will be needed and we want to ensure opportunities for local people to work at The Five Bells. In particular, we want to offer young people from the parish the opportunity to get their first job in a safe and supportive environment.
Volunteering will be part of the The Five Bells culture too. Whether behind the bar, in a community shop, running a cafe or growing garden produce, Volunteers can play a key role.
Building Skills
Our new Five Bells will be all about Community. With this in mind, we will actively look for ways in which anyone from the community can learn new skills at The Five Bells. Learning practical skills, gaining business experience, developing people skills, and building personal confidence are just a few of the possibilities.
Can you help?
Achieving our vision for The Five Bells will need help from across the community.
Please look at our Get Involved page for the latest help we need. We will also ask for help through our email news so please sign up below.
Get Involved