Crosspool News – crosspool.info
The Crosspool community website run by Crosspool Forum
Staff at Enhance the hairdressers in Crosspool are going to be holding a Macmillan coffee morning on Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 September throughout the day.
They will be selling cakes and buns to take away to raise money for Macmillan cancer support.
The Save The Plough campaign group have announced that their bid to buy The Plough has been beaten by a higher offer from another party that wishes to reopen the pub:
We submitted our bid to the agents last week. Our bid was based on a professional valuation of £435,000 which also included the third car park adjacent to the sports ground.
We were informed by the agents that the third car park had now been taken out of the sale but we stood by our bid.
In discussions with both the agents and Enterprise Inns this week, we were asked if we could increase our bid to match one which was ‘significantly’ higher than ours. We did not want to get drawn into a bidding war and restated that our bid was a fair and reasonable offer.
It seems that Enterprise Inns will go with the higher offer. We do not know who the other bidder is but Enterprise did say it was someone who wants to reopen the pub and it is someone with a track record in the industry.
Despite the fact that we now seem to have reached the end of the road for our project, we would like to thank everyone who has supported the campaign and those who pledged to invest in a community pub. Local people have shown great support for the Plough and we think that this has persuaded other investors that it can be a viable pub and a great local.
Obviously, there is some disappointment in that we might not meet our aim of reopening the Plough as a community run pub but we feel that we can all be proud of what we achieved. When our campaign began in June 2016, our original campaign slogan was ‘Save the Plough’ and it looks like we have done that. If we had not successfully campaigned against Sainsbury’s application for change of the use, the pub would have been lost forever.
During the course of our campaign, it has become clear that there is tremendous community spirit in Crosspool and it would be great if that community spirit could be channeled into other local projects – any ideas?
Once again, we would like to thank everyone for their support throughout a long and challenging campaign and, whenever we had a low point as a campaign group, the support of the community always got us through.
Regards
Peter
(The Plough Community Campaign)
A further £20,000 has been pledged in support of the Plough pub since the last public meeting.
The campaign to reopen the Sandygate Road pub is looking to raise £120,000 through a community share issue.
A recent post on the campaign Facebook page says:
A few days ago, we needed 150 people to make a minimum pledge. Now that’s down to 80 – we’re sure if we all work hard, we can find those people.
Please email – ploughsandygate@gmail.com for a pledge form or to make a pledge.
It’s your chance to play a couple of songs, unplugged and with no microphone, to a friendly Crosspool Festival crowd – or just turn up and watch!
The Save the Plough campaign is looking to raise £120,000 through a community share issue.
The group has been in discussions with a private investor who has offered to buy the freehold of The Plough and lease it back to the community group on favourable terms over an initial 10-year period. The private investor would cover the acquisition and external refurbishment costs.
The £120,000 would cover the initial start-up costs of the business.
If you are interested in making an investment in The Plough contact the group directly by emailing ploughsandygate@gmail.com or Facebook for a copy of the pledge form.
A public meeting is also scheduled to take place on Thursday 15 June, 7pm at St Columba’s on Manchester Road.
A post from the Facebook page:
We have formed the Plough Community Benefit Society Ltd and have registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. This means that we are now in a position to raise funds through a Community Share Issue.
Originally, our plan was to buy the freehold of the Plough which had been put on the market for offers in excess of £550,000. We commissioned a valuation from an independent consultant who valued the pub at £435,000. Clearly raising that kind of money plus funds for refurbishment would have been a tough challenge.
However, very recently, we have been in discussions with a private investor who has offered to buy the freehold of the Plough and lease it back to the community group on favourable terms over an initial 10 year period.
Financially, this makes our target much more achievable. The private investor would cover the acquisition and external refurbishment costs. We would be responsible for refitting the interior of the pub.
We are looking to raise £120,000 through a Community Share Issue which would cover the initial start-up costs of the business.
We are now seeking to gauge the level of support for a potential Community Share Issue. Shares will be valued at £1 and sold in batches with a minimum investment of £250 rising to the legal maximum of £20,000. All shareholders will have equal voting rights irrespective of the value of their holding.
If you would be interested in making an investment in the Plough, please contact us directly by email for a copy of our Pledge Form: ploughsandygate@gmail.com. Or contact us through Facebook messenger.
Please consider making a financial and social investment in the Plough as both a traditional local pub and a thriving community asset.
We will be in Crosspool precinct tomorrow morning if you would like to talk to us and we are planning to hold a public meeting on June 15th.
The next evening of acoustic music at Nest cafe on Sandygate Road will take place on Thursday 6 April.Nest cafe on Sandygate Road
This time it’s a folk special, with Toein’ in the Dark, The Finch Charmers and songwriter/poet Pete Green.
Acoustic night 4: Toein’ in the Dark, The Finch Charmers & more
Do you play in a band or perform acoustically and would like to play at this event? Please email crosspoolnews@gmail.com or comment below with a link to your website or music.
The Sportsman pub is open as normal this week while refurbishment work starts but will close for a makeover from 6pm on Sunday 5 March in time for the expected reopening on Friday 10 March.
Follow The Sportsman on Facebook for the latest updates
Crosspool Tavern is also due to be refurbished later this year.
Sainsbury’s will not be appealing the planning decision for The Plough, according to the Save the Plough and the Sporting Heritage of Sandygate campaign group.
In the Sheffield Telegraph, a spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “Following the decision to refuse the planning application, we have reviewed our options and have decided not to proceed with an appeal. We will continue to look for further opportunities in the area.”
True North Brewery, the owners of several successful South Yorkshire pubs including The York in Broomhill, said in another Sheffield Telegraph article that they’d be interested in buying The Plough pub should it be put on the market.
The convenience store planning application from Sainsbury’s was refused permission at the Sheffield City Council planning committee meeting on 10 January.
The Save the Plough and the Sporting Heritage of Sandygate campaign group is inviting everyone for a festive drink on Friday 23 December between 5:30pm. and 6:30pm in The Plough car park.
According to the Save the Plough campaign group, the decision on the planning application for The Plough pub will no longer be heard on 22 November.
