Community Group Celebrates Victory After Council’s U-Turn on Historic Pub

Caldmore: A historic pub, the White Lion, is now protected from development. This comes after a local community group fought hard for its preservation. They recently won the Asset of Community Value (ACV) status from Walsall Council, which had initially denied their request.

The ACV status means the pub is important to the community. If the owners want to sell it, they must first offer it to the community for up to five years. This gives locals a chance to keep the pub alive.

The White Lion’s previous ACV status was set to expire in November 2024. When the Friends of the White Lion group tried to renew it, the council said no. They claimed the pub hadn’t been used recently and wouldn’t be used soon.

The pub closed in 2020 and changed hands a couple of times. The current owners, 88 Capital Investments Ltd, never reopened it and put it up for auction in June 2024.

The council’s refusal faced backlash from the Campaign for Real Ale. They argued that the pub’s closure was due to the owners not opening it, not a lack of community interest.

After the initial setback, the Friends of the White Lion reapplied for the ACV status and succeeded this time. Mark Webster, the group’s chairman, expressed gratitude for the community’s support and highlighted the pub’s importance as a heritage asset.

Walsall Council has been contacted for a statement regarding this decision.