The Winning Horse

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March 2025

WINNING HORSE PROJECT IS YET TO LEAVE THE STABLE

The project to buy the closed Winning Horse pub and turn it into a community hub remains firmly in the stable – the Claygate Community Benefit Company (CCBS), set up to pursue the plan, sadly reports that it has hardly moved in the past few months.

The group had hoped to apply to the Community Ownership Fund for help in purchasing the building, which remains on the market at an asking price of £595,000 plus VAT – but the government recently closed this fund.

Although a considerable setback, the CCBS team has not given up and has been pursuing other funding: it is preparing a bid to the Nattonal Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund, as well as looking at raising funds through a Community Share issue and fundraising events.

The team is also working its way through the list of people who offered their services last year. Anyone who has yet to hear from the team and would like to be involved at this stage, please email claygatecbs@gmail.com.

It is too soon for offers of help with the refurbishment, but CCBS would like to hear from anyone with professional expertise, and time, to help with finance, project management, property acquisition, etc. Scan the QR code to join our mailing list for further news and updates.

CCBS Management Team: Geoff Eden, Jenny French, Donna Holt, Leo Tye, Pam Jarvis, Andy Maddocks, Mary Marshall, Mark Sugden

December 2024

To receive a report from the Health and Wellbeing and Leisure Advisory Committee.

This group haven’t met for some time but Cllr French informed the Parish Council that the Winning Horse project is still ongoing and they are waiting for funds.

(extract from Parish Council meeting, 5th December 2024, item 12)

October 2024

HUGE EFFORT NEEDED TO SAVE WINNING HORSE

Much work has been going on to rescue the closed Winning Horse pub in Coverts Road, which is currently on the market for £595,000 plus VAT, with a further £500,000 needed to refurbish the building.

The newly formed Claygate Community Benefit Society submitted an application to the government's Community Ownership Fund for a grant to purchase the pub earlier this year and use it to benefit the community. But the general election prevented this when the Fund was withdrawn until further notice.

This has given the Claygate team more time to plan and develop the project, and work out how best to use the building. But a huge effort will be needed to raise the funds to make it happen.

An online survey by the team to gauge support for its proposal won a fantastic response, with nearly everyone in favour of saving The Winning Horse to provide a community venue for the village. There were some great words of encouragement from local people, many of whom had been regular customers at “The Winner”, together with many offers of practical help and interest in supporting the project financially.

The team will be following up all these offers and will certainly need practical help in refurbishing the building if it succeeds in purchasing it. The team is keen to hear from anyone who could help with social media and communications, as engaging with the local and wider community will be vital to the success of the project. Email claygatecbs@gmail.com if you can help. For further updates please follow the "Save The Winner" Facebook page.

source: Claygate Courier, October 2024 issue, page 5

June 2024

Word is getting around of an exciting new community project to purchase the Winning Horse pub and transform it into a thriving community venue to revitalise the Coverts Road area of Claygate.

The idea to use the derelict building to benefit the local community came from the Claygate: The Way Forward’s working groups. A separate group has now been formed to develop the proposal to purchase the building for the community.

The project involves an application to the Government’s Community Ownership Fund for the a grant towards the purchase price and refurbishment costs. Match-funding of a further £300,000 will need to be raised locally to secure the funding.

The timescale is tight as it has just been announced that, because of the General Election, the final round of the Community Ownership Fund has been brought forward from 2025 to June 2024!

So far the group has:

• Joined the Plunkett Foundation to get advice and support for the community purchase
• Set up the Claygate Community Benefit Society and registered it with the FCA.
• Secured £2,000 seed funding from Claygate Parish Council for building valuation and survey costs
• Secured a further £50,000 Community Infrastructure Levy grant from Claygate Parish Council subject to securing the Community Ownership grant.
• Produced a draft Business Plan detailing the services and facilities the venue could offer.

The next step is to demonstrate there is support from the community for the project.

source: https://www.claygatevillageassociation.org/post/do-we-have-a-winner

May 2024

PARISH COUNCIL ACHIEVEMENT 23RD MAY 2024: "Approved £2k seed funding grant—50% matched by the Claygate Community Benefit Society Ltd (CCBS)—towards valuation and survey costs of The Winning Horse Project."

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PARISH COUNCIL ACHIEVEMENT 23RD MAY 2024: "Approved £50,000 CIL grant to The Winning Horse Project, contingent on a grant of £890,000 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities."

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See also

• Claygate Community Benefit Society Ltd