A COUNCILLOR is spearheading moves for a disused and once-popular village pub to be bought by the community.
Coun Hannah Kitching wants to test appetite for the Fountain Inn at Ingbirchworth to be brought into public ownership.
She thinks the disused pub should and could be at the centre of the community.
And she is aiming to set up a public meeting to gauge opinion.
She says people fear that if the building stays unused for much longer it could go for development. “And that would be a real shame,” said Coun Kitchen, a newly-elected member of Penistone Town Council.
The prospect of a resurgent Fountain was raised at Monday’s meeting of Gunthwaite and Ingbirchworth parish council when clerk Joan Methley reported on public unrest about the state of the site.
“Youngsters are getting on to the land and the roof,” she said. “Coun Kitchen thinks it would be a good idea if the community bought the former pub.
“I think it would be a no-go. It’s a great idea, but it was also a hotel, not just a pub and it wasn’t working.”
Coun Kitchen told the Chronicle: “I have been hearing for some time that people are upset that this community no longer has a pub at its heart.
“Ingbirchworth is small but it has grown of late. So there is a lot of new housing but no amenities. Both the shop and pub have closed.
“I am getting the feeling the pub could and should be at the centre of the community. Not just as a pub but as a community resource with parties, galas, meetings held there. A real hub.
“I want to explore the idea that people could come together, buy the site and run it as a community facility.”
Coun Kitchen said she had no idea as to cost at this stage.
“We need to ensure the site is safe; see how it can be protected as a site of special historic interest and see if there is an appetite to take it on,” she said.
“It’s early days, but I feel people would be interested. It would be good not just for this parish but for the whole surrounding area.”
Her next step is to meet with the parish council, get members’ views and then plan a public meeting. “Then we can take it from there,” she said.
At the meeting, Coun Tony Whitbread said he had heard that owners Enterprise Inns were in talks with developers about the whole site. “There will be more money in that option,” he said.
A resident who was present said: “It is just hanging about there and becoming a blight. Is there no way we can get to know what is intended for the site?
“People think it is going to be built on but we hope not.”
Chairman Coun David Edmondson said the site is not designated for housing but that it could become a windfall site and considered for new homes.
The council agreed to ask Barnsley Council if there had been any informal talks or approaches about developing the site.
