THE LONE pub in Hayscastle and the only one within a three-mile radius of the village is Y Cross. The Phillips family has been in charge of it constantly for the past 160 years.
The local community is determined to not only purchase the bar but also to strengthen its position at the centre of village life despite the fact that it has been on the market for the past two years with no interested purchasers.
The last landlords to run the place were the Phillips family who had been there for over 160 years continuously.
A group was formed last fall to examine the possibility of the community looking to buy the bar and creating a hub facility to the already existing set up which should ideally include a once-weekly mobile bank and post office, along with a small store selling necessities and a transportation hub.
“Should the doors of the pub close it would be very damaging for the local community,” said project chairperson Geraint Evans, a fifth-generation local farmer.
“It would deprive residents of one of the last remaining local meeting places where people can congregate regularly and enjoy community gatherings.”
To get the initiative going, it will need to raise about £500,000: £250,000 via a share offer that will be made public in the coming months and £250,000 from available match funds.
A group of community volunteers evaluated the proposal in-depth, and the results were a business plan and shared offer paperwork. Both local accountants and specialists in hospitality and catering have examined these.
Locals are also eager to contribute their time and talents to its success, with around 80 individuals having attended each of the three public meetings so far, demonstrating the community’s strong support for the initiative.
The motivated group has received more than 130 community comment forms, and the responses are largely supportive of how the pub and its structures might change in the future.
“Our plans are numerous and creative,” said Geraint.
“We look to provide employment for local people in catering and public house management. We look forward to working to provide a local shop facility with availability of foods produced locally and to be a transport hub for the community, with the potential of providing electric charging points and a rural bus information hub.
“We will also be looking at introducing a range of regular social activities to meet the needs of all groups within our bilingual community.”
“We are committed to achieving our aim for the future of this community and in particular for the generations to come. We hope that in our grandchildren’s time Y Cross, Cas-lai is Yma o Hyd!” Committee vice- chair Jeremy Bowen also added.
