RESIDENTS of Grampound have launched a fresh community campaign to save their local pub after it was put up for sale — despite their MP helping to secure it as an asset of community value.

Local people staged a kick-off meeting in the village hall, and raised more than £1,200 in 24 hours via a JustGiving appeal to fund research into all options for the future of the Dolphin Inn on the A390 road.

This could include raising enough capital to buy it, then follow due process and run it themselves in what they call a ‘Community Benefit Society’ – or find a new buyer who would want to run the pub.

The pub’s current owner, St Austell Brewery, has put the pub on the market for £415,000 plus VAT, available once the current tenants leave in mid-April.

But the community effectively has an extended deadline of June 5 following successful lobbying by MP for St Austell and Newquay Noah Law who, in November, presented a petition to Parliament.

The petition was signed by more than a third of Grampound’s residents, emphasising the importance of the Dolphin Inn in supporting the “social, cultural, recreational, and sporting interests” of the community.

After it was presented, Cornwall Council deemed the building an Asset of Community Value.

It had previously declined a similar application, but now with the added protections, campaigners have the Community Right to Bid, giving it until June 5 to negotiate community ownership before the property can be sold to a commercial entity.

Dean Jenkins, who is on the campaign team, said the community has now gathered a further 200 signatures of support for the pub in a fresh survey about the situation.

He said: “This is the last pub in the village – it’s where the community get together, and it’s a real lifeline.

“We are just a small group but with the support of our village who want to make sure the heart of Grampound lives on; a heart that provides a meeting place, a social centre for activities and events; a place to share stories and meet friends old and new, over good food and quality drinks.

“We have to save it. Our preferred choice is for a pub business or food and drink business to buy the pub but otherwise we will try and bid.”

According to the JustGiving site, funds are earmarked to be spent on registering as a Community Benefit Society (CBS), covering the costs of printing materials, and registering with an organisation that will enable the community to launch a Share Offering – which the team have dubbed a “vital first step in our journey to saving the Dolphin Inn for the benefit of everyone in the community.”

It’s a big task, but the village has a track record of delivering community projects. Ten years ago, villagers worked together to source portable buildings, then set up a retail shop and café with outside decking area which is still highly successful and used by visitors, as well as the community.