“It is a real honour” - Puzzle Hall campaigners given Pub Saving Award

Campaigners who saved the Puzzle Hall Inn in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire have been recognised with the Campaign for Real Ale’s prestigious Pub Saving Award for their efforts.

The Puzzle Hall Community Pub Ltd, a not-for-profit Community Benefit Society, raised £172,860 from the local community to purchase and refurbish the Puzzle Hall Inn, which was fast falling into a derelict state. The pub, a 17th century building located between the canal and the river in Sowerby Bridge, once included a brewery which had since been turned into accommodation for the local area.

Crowd funding to save the local launched in 2017 and campaigners received critical social investment and support from Big Society Capital, More than a Pub fund, the Plunkett Foundation, Calderdale and the Key Fund. With their help, an offer was made on the pub the following year.

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In December 2019 the pub re-opened after an extensive refurbishment, which one of the judges described as ‘a great community effort to literally save both a local and regional presentation’. Work to refurbish the pub is ongoing, with continual help and input from volunteers.

Sam Irvine from the Puzzle Hall Community Pub Limited said: “It is a real honour to be recognised in CAMRA’s Pub Saving Award. Obviously when we took on this project in 2017, we were in a very different situation to the one we face today with COVID restrictions. My hope is that we’ll be able to reopen the pub as soon as possible so that it can continue to serve as an intrinsic hub to the local community.”

Co-ordinator of the Pub Saving Award Paul Ainsworth said: “Congratulations to the Puzzle Hall Community Pub Ltd, which is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when community groups come together to support their local.”