Ambitious plans to make the inn the heart of the community

A community group in Fife is urging supporters to buy community shares to create a community-owned hub.

Kingsbarns Community Hub, based in the community-owned Inn at Kingsbarns, will preserve not only the inn’s historic functions of a pub, restaurant and accommodation, it will also provide a new daytime café, basic shop provisions from the bar and, in the longer term, opening a dedicated community shop and larger restaurant.

The inn is part of the growing trend for community-owned pubs. There were 174 community-owned pubs in the UK, as of January 2024. Research shows that the number of community-owned pubs in the UK has increased by 62.6% over the last five years, at a time when pubs are increasingly under threat.

Having made the initial purchase of the Inn at Kingsbarns building, supported both by Scottish Land Fund grants and by donations, Kingsbarns Community Development Trust (KCDT) has now launched a community share offer to raise £60,000 to contribute towards initial stock purchase, marketing and working capital.

The project is being supported by Community Shares Scotland, and Plunkett Foundation, a charity that helps people set up community-owned businesses.

Sue Jenkins, co-chair of the KCDT said; “We are delighted that the Inn at Kingsbarns is now a community owned asset.  It’s a brilliant opportunity to bring people together and provide much needed facilities for the community.  

“In time, we’ll see the development of a shop, restaurant and cafe, all under the one roof, whilst retaining a great pub.  We have been overwhelmed with support from the community and are thankful to Scottish Land Fund and Community Shares Scotland for their generosity and help on our journey.”

Community shares are a social investment that allow local people to purchase a share in a community led venture.

Each investor will become a member of Kingsbarns Community Benefit Society (KCBS) and will have a say in how the Hub is run. The minimum investment for Kingsbarns residents is £25 (one share). The minimum investment for non-residents is £50 (two shares).

Kingsbarns Community Benefit Society aims but cannot guarantee to offer 4% interest from Year 5 (2028/29) and to start to offer share withdrawals from Year 6 (2029/30). In the longer term, surplus profit will be spent on community initiatives.

Since 2019, Community Shares Scotland has supported eight community pubs, with over £730,000 raised so far and a further 14 pubs in the pipeline.

Morven Lyon, head of democratic finance, DTA Scotland, said; “The Scottish Community Pubs Partnership with the Plunkett Foundation has proven to be an invaluable programme of support for the ever-increasing community-owned pub network in Scotland.

“The programme, funded by the Scottish Government, has enabled groups to gain access to detailed advice, funding and peer to peer learning and perhaps most importantly, build confidence in their ambitions.

“The Kingsbarns Community Hub is a prime example of this, with the community share offer enabling the group to preserve the historic inn and expand their business offering. With 10 new early-stage pub groups emerging since the start of 2024, it's clear that there is a growing desire in Scotland for community-owned pubs and the partnership has been able to facilitate this growth.”

Susie Middleton, project manager, Plunkett Foundation said: “Working in partnership with Community Shares Scotland to support community pub groups across rural Scotland has ensured every group in the network has access to the best advice and guidance at the right time in their respective journeys.

“We are delighted to have seen the number of trading community pubs grow from four in 2021 to 11 today, whilst between September 2023 and March 2024 alone we welcomed 10 new pub groups into the network.

“We look forward to supporting these groups, offering them the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with others in the network and helping them to save much loved assets for the benefit of their communities.”