A community owned inn on Arran provides locals with a warm social hub, boosting wellbeing and benefiting the area.
Located at Arran’s northern tip, the inn will remain open Friday to Sunday this winter, providing the community with a warm place to socialize year-round. This benefits mental health and boosts community togetherness.
The inn is one of twelve community pubs in Scotland that are currently open and trading, a number which has doubled in three years. The Scottish Government and Plunkett UK, organizations operating all over Scotland, have provided assistance.
The Lochranza Country Inn, formerly known as the Lochranza Hotel, is open again following community approval of the plan in 2021. The inn closed during the pandemic, raising concerns it would be converted into a holiday home.
Volunteers formed NACBS to purchase the hotel, subsequently registering it as a charity and obtaining grant money to make an offer. Lochranza Community Inn Ltd now manages the inn, ensuring the community benefits.
The inn boasts a bar with a beer garden offering views of Lochranza, Kilbrannan Sound, and Skipness. It also features a thirty-seat restaurant and nine bedrooms that can accommodate up to twenty-two guests.
Plunkett, funded by the Scottish Government, has awarded twenty-one grants of up to £2,000 each to pub groups since 2022, aimed at supporting rural pubs.
Diane Cameron, a community business manager at Plunkett, expressed her happiness in helping pubs, acknowledging the financial challenges they face early on and highlighting the numerous benefits they provide.
Many of these pubs offer free soup, tea, and coffee during the winter months, while others provide low-fee kids’ clubs after school, including food, which significantly helps families.
Furthermore, some pubs sell affordable meals using local food suppliers, benefiting the local economy, and host events. They also offer workspaces, host music and film screenings, provide jobs for young people, and improve mental health.