Plea to Prince Charles to help save Garibaldi (From Bucks Free Press)

Plea to Prince Charles to help save Garibaldi

2:23pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in News By Lawrence Dunhill

CAMPAIGNERS have appealed to Prince Charles to help them save their village pub from permanent closure.

The Garibaldi, in Bourne End, closed in July and owners Punch Taverns have put the freehold up for sale for £425,000 - with an estate agent advertising its potential for residential conversion.

Villagers along Hedsor Road have launched a campaign group and are seeking to raise funds to buy the pub as a community venture (see related links).

More than 100 people have also signed a petition against any future change of use for the property - saying it should be safeguarded as a pub.

The group, called ‘Save the Garibaldi’, has also written to HRH Prince of Wales to ask for assistance through his ‘Pub is the Hub’ scheme.

Electronic engineer James Robinson, of Hedsor Road, has been going to the pub for 16 years.

The 35-year-old said: "There’s an amazing little community in this street and everyone uses the pub as a meeting point and all sorts of get-togethers and functions....It makes the community what it is."

He said a community buy-out would be the ideal option but the group would also welcome another buyer coming in to run it as a pub.

A spokesman for Punch Taverns said: "We can confirm the pub is on the market and we are looking for buyers for the site."

The fate of another Bourne End pub, The Firefly, is in doubt after its doors shut last month.

Spokesman Clive Merrick said The Station Road pub would remain closed indefinitely until a decision about its future is made.

He said the business had been running at a loss in recent months, despite a renovation aiming to make it more food focused.
 

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