A public meeting was held in Wroxall this evening (Thursday), where plans to secure the last remaining pub through a Community Benefit Society, were announced.
Aviv Goode, who previously ran The View Cafe at Stenbury Hall, called the meeting to share her side of the story in relation to the recent closure of the cafe, and to announce Community Benefit Society plans.
Background
In September, without any notice, Aviv was locked out of the cafe that she leases from Wroxall Community Association (WCA – charity number 302013).
Earlier this month, Aviv offered an olive branch to the charity, to accept six months’ notice if she is allowed to return to work.
Following a closed meeting held by WCA on 3rd October to invited users of Stenbury Hall, Aviv said she felt the need to call tonight’s meeting to share her side of the story to members of the community, offering to provide evidence on her laptop to counter many claims made about her.
Not one person in the room asked to see the evidence at the end of the meeting.
New plans
The big new was Aviv announcing a plan to set up a Community Benefit Society for the purpose of purchasing and managing Wroxall’s last remaining pub, which is currently up for sale.
Along with two other founding members, David Groocock and Martin Cresswell, Aviv will be forming the Wroxall Community Benefit Society (WCBS) and invited residents to get involved.
Earlier this week, they viewed the closed pub and say the owner is in support of their initiative. They have also received advice from Plunket UK (charity number 313743), a charity that supports community ownership in rural places.
Asset of Community Value
An application to register the building as an Asset of Community Value was submitted to Isle of Wight Council this week.
If approved, the property would be protected from sale on the open market without giving the community an opportunity to purchase first.
Transparency
Aviv explained that the setting up and running of WCBS would be completely transparent and how the community pub was set up and run would be voted upon by the shareholders, whether they invested £1 or £1,000.
There was a huge round of applause from the residents crammed into the hall as Aviv explained,
“I refuse to allow two people to determine my reputation.
“I need to put my energy into something positive and I am fully committed to this.”
It was suggested that as well as being a community pub, the premises could be used for a breakfast club for children, as a warm space, a community meeting place, a restaurant, and the three/four bedroomed flat above could be rented out to raise income.
Although there would be some paid roles, trades volunteers were encouraged to get involved to keep costs down, and all profits would go back into WCBS.
Support for the plans
Almost everyone in room signed up to receive more information and get involved in some way. The WCBS will need to evidence support for the community pub idea, so a questionnaire will be sent to everyone who gave their details.
Aviv also mentioned a Government scheme launched earlier this year:
“A £61m fund to encourage people to save treasured local assets announced as part of a set of reforms to put more power in the hands of communities.”
What is a Community Benefit Society?
A Community Benefit Society (CBS) is a legal structure for an organisation that trades or operates for the benefit of the wider community rather than mainly for its own members.
It’s governed by the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
How it works
- Democratic ownership. People join by buying shares, often for a small amount. It’s strictly one member, one vote, however many shares someone holds.
- Community purpose. Profits go back into the society’s purpose or the community. They aren’t distributed to members as dividends in the usual sense.
- Community shares. A CBS can raise money from the public by issuing withdrawable shares. Members can later get their money back, subject to the society’s rules and finances, but they can’t sell the shares on.
- Asset lock. A CBS can adopt a statutory asset lock, which stops assets being sold off for private gain. It’s optional but common.
- Minimum of three members to register. It also files annual returns and accounts with the FCA.
More to follow …
