[P]enrith and The Border MP Rory Stewart has visited The Butchers Arms in Crosby Ravensworth, to meet tenants Jon and Katie Metcalfe, who took over last year.
The community-owned pub was recently nominated in the Pub category of the Countryside Alliance awards, otherwise known as “The Rural Oscars”. The awards are the most prestigious rural business awards in the UK and give a voice and a platform to the best of the Country’s produce, enterprise, heritage and communities. Whilst they did not win, the pub came highly commended, something which Rory Stewart says both the new tenants and the community should be “incredibly proud” of.
Rory played an active role in the campaign to save the Butchers Arms back in 2011 by making it a key part of the Big Society vanguard project and helping to find £21,000 from Central Government for a feasibility study for the community buyout. The pub was subsequently bought by over 300 people who each wanted to bring the pub back into the heart of the community and Rory also became a shareholder.
After holding a constituency surgery at The Butchers Arms on Friday Rory said: “The local pub plays a crucial part in rural life – both as a source of enterprise and as a social hub. A good local pub helps to tackle important issues such as rural isolation and loneliness and enhances quality of life and wellbeing for people at a very local level. The Butchers Arms is an amazing success story and I am incredibly proud of Jon and Katie and the wonderful atmosphere they have created. The food and service is fantastic and I couldn’t recommend The Butchers Arms highly enough.”
