A POPULAR Bourne End pub which campaigners are trying to save from permanent closure has been temporarily reopened.

Pub operator All Our Bars reopened The Garibaldi yesterday under a flexible, short-term lease, and said it may even consider buying the Hedsor Road pub from owner Punch Taverns.

Punch has put the freehold up for sale for £425,000 - with an estate agent advertising its potential for residential conversion.

Stephen Brook, chairman of All Our Bars, said: “There are all sorts of options and it’s not inconceivable, if it goes well, that we may think about buying it ourselves.”

Villagers along Hedsor Road have launched a campaign group and are still looking at the possibility of buying 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.

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