Villagers hit pub purchase goal in just four weeks

Residents of a south of Scotland village have taken just four weeks to raise the outstanding funds needed to buy their local pub.

The community rallied together in Brydekirk to fundraise enough money to purchase the Brig Inn, near the River Annan, which has been empty since 2020.

The group had already secured £95,110 from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) - which equated to 95% of the building's valuation - but this left a shortfall to meet the seller's asking price.

In addition to financial investment from South of Scotland Enterprise and the Plunkett Foundation, an online crowdfunding appeal has now surpassed £21,000.

The group plans to restore the building, which will then operate as a small pub and village shop.

Duncan MacMillan, treasurer of The Brig Inn and Hub, said the local community had shown huge support for the project.

''We started with nothing but a common dream to recover the Brig Inn," he said.

"We had a bingo night, a raffle and supermarket bag-packing.

"We've now raised enough money to put in what we think is a great offer.''

The housing developers who own the pub had applied to change its use to residential, however this was rejected by Dumfries and Galloway Council following objections from residents.

Following years of vacancy, the building has suffered from storm damage, a loss of essential utilities and has an unstable wall.

As well as restoration works, future plans also include converting the self-contained upstairs flat into affordable accommodation.

The purchase of the pub comes at a challenging time for the hospitality industry, with increasing energy, produce and supplier costs.

However, Duncan said the pub and hub would plug a gap in the market and would help to support other local businesses.

"We've already had initial talks with local brewers," he said.

"We're very lucky in this area, we have a lot of small enterprises and businesses, and we think we can help each other by having this local hub as a place where people can go and support local producers."

However, speed is of the essence in concluding a deal for the property.

The community group needs to complete the purchase by March, when the offer of funding from the SLF expires.