A Yorkshire Dales community has been given the backing it has been waiting for to rescue its local pub.

The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities has told fundraisers in Spennithorne and Harmby, near Leyburn, that their bid for money has been successful, with a grant of £180,000 and £19,740 in funding to secure the Old Horn community pub.

With £180,000 raised through a share offer by the community, the project now has enough for the £360,000 needed to buy the old inn and refurbish it as a community hub for the villages. Campaigners are now planning to meet with the Community Ownership Fund to discuss going ahead with the plan.

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A spokesperson for the Friends of the Old Horn Inn said: “It is the news we have all been waiting for. This is fantastic. We have now achieved the £360,000 needed to purchase and refurbish the Old Horn Inn. Additionally, we have £19740 in revenue grant funding to cover legal fees, insurance, structural survey, accountancy fees etc. Everything we asked for.

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“We will be meeting with the COF team to finalise the grant agreement and we will keep people informed with further updates. We still have a way to go to get our pub back up and running and we will need many volunteers to get involved in making the Old Horn Inn a real welcoming community hub.

"For now though, a huge thank you from the committee to all our investors, and supporters from all over the country. We are another huge step along the road to bringing the Old Horn Inn into community ownership. This is a fantastic achievement and shows just what can be achieved when a community joins together in a common cause.”