A York pub which has long been run by the community who use it has now been bought by them as well.
The Golden Ball, on Cromwell Road, has been leased to a co-operative of residents since 2012.
But that co-op was taken by surprise when the freehold for the pub was put up for sale by owners the Stonegate Group last September.
That’s because it is listed as an Asset of Community Value. And as such, the local community should be given six months to try to buy it before it can be sold to anyone else.
Savills was marketing the Golden Ball for offers in excess of £575,000.
Since it went on sale, negotiations have been going on behind the scenes. And just over six months later, on Friday (27 March), the Golden Ball Co-operative Ltd completed the purchase of the freehold of the pub.
Chair of the co-op Graeme Wilson said: “This milestone is the culmination of years of work and is a tribute to the tenacity of our membership and the excellence of our staff.
“The support we have received from our customers, past and present has been fabulous.
“Our policies of supporting local businesses and promoting a diverse and community-focused range of events have led to excellent trading over the 13 years that we have leased the pub and now provide a strong commercial basis for our future.
“We are excited to be looking ahead and to build on this achievement for the benefit of the pub, its staff, members and the wider community.
“This purchase is a great success story for community ownership, community wealth building and the future of York.”
Graeme told YorkMix: “It’s been our aim to buy the pub since the cooperative was formed in 2012. The owner decided to sell it last summer, so we bought it.
“We own it now, so the pub is in the hands of its community rather than a corporate landlord based in the Cayman Islands.
“There are no immediate plans for change – we will continue being a great pub.”
He declined to comment on how much the co-op had paid for the pub, or how the money was raised.
Before the sale, the entire property had been let to The Golden Ball Co-Operative Limited on a 20-year lease from 28 July 2023 at a rent of £48,343 per year.
The co-op is made of 200 York people who clubbed together to buy the leasehold and keep the pub open as a local hub.
When the co-op took over the running of the Golden Ball in 2012 it was just the 12th in the country to become a true community pub.
