Penrith Pub facing an uncertain future nominated as a community asset

The Agricultural Hotel is facing an uncertain future following the announcement by the current landlords of 20 years that they would be cease trading on Sunday 4th of June and not renewing the lease with the owners Penrith Farmers’ and Kidd’s plc .

Members of CAMRA “Campaign for Real Ale” have made an application to register the Agricultural as a community assets.

The Community Right to Bid gives members of the local community the right to nominate buildings and land (assets) that they think are important to your community for listing on the Register of Assets of Community Value.

The right to nominate and register assets as community assets came into force in September 2012 as part of the Localism Act 2011.

The assets can be publicly or privately owned but must meet strict criteria to be registered and added to the community asset list by the local authority.

If a building or land on the community asset register comes up for sale or a lease of at least 25 years, the nominating group will be notified and they will have up to six weeks to say whether or not they will bid for it, and up to six months to prepare the bid to buy or lease it.

The owner of the asset does not have to sell the building or land to the community group, but they will be allowed time to put together a bid to buy it on the open market.

CAMRA “Campaign for Real Ale” have tried unsuccessfully in the past to register the agricultural hotel as a community asset.

In 2017 the group submitted a nomination for the Agricultural Hotel to Eden District council who refused the application saying at the time “The Agricultural Hotel, Castlegate, Penrith is not land of community value as it does not further the social wellbeing or interests of the local community having regard to the proximity of other public houses.”

The groups attest nomination for the Agricultural Hotel has again been submitted to Eden District Council however with the local government reorganisation in Cumbria less than two weeks away the new Westmorland and Furness council who take over council services on the 1^st of April will be responsible for progressing the application and considering it.

It has however emerged that Eden Council are not enforcing the community asset protection and properties on the current community asset list are been marketed and sold with no community right to bid process been enforced by Eden District Council with at least one asset on the community asset register currently on the open market with no community right to bid process occurring.

Should the Agricultural be marketed by the owners before the nomination is considered then it will render the nomination by CAMRA invalid if not apprived by the new westmorland and Furness council before a potential sale is announced.