3k sign petition to save 300-year-old pub
More than 3,000 people have signed a petition urging Chipping Barnet Council to protect one of the borough’s oldest pubs from redevelopment through granting it Asset of Community Value status.
Eight pubs shut their doors for good across the UK in the first six months of 2025, according to recent data from BBPA. The rise in pub closures is fuelling a spike in loneliness, the drinks business recently reported, with 67% of people considering pubs “vital” means of combatting isolation.
And the Black Horse in Chipping Barnet, thought to date back to 1720, was among those to close it doors in September, after the leaseholder left the business.
Its owner Star Pubs said it was in the process of recruiting a new operator after the last leaseholder vacated, according to BBC.
But the local community is campaigning for Barnet Council to grant the pub Asset of Community Value (ACV) status, which gives locals the “right to bid” on a property if the owner decides to sell.
Protecting venues
The ACV regime was launched in 2012 in a bid to protect buildings deemed to further the social well-being or interests of the local community. The accreditation is recgonsied by councils across England, and at the time, the hospitality sector hoped it would stem the rate of pub closures.
Local Olly Gough launched the online petition on 2 November, expressing fears that the Black Horse could be at risk of being sold for redevelopment if it was not granted ACV status.
So far, 3,103 people have added their signature in support of the pub. The petition calls the Black Horse one of Chipping Barnet’s “most cherished pubs”, claiming that nearly everyone in area has a “fond memory of time spent there”.
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Community hub
It adds: “If the Black Horse is listed as an ACV, it would help protect it for future generations. Should the pub ever be put up for sale, the community would have the right to be notified and a chance to bid for it – ensuring it isn’t quietly lost to redevelopment or conversion.
“We’re launching this petition to show Barnet Council just how much the Black Horse means to local residents. ACV status depends on community support, and your signature will help demonstrate this pub truly serves local people and deserves to be protected.”
Supporters flooded the comments in support. “It is spacious and children are welcome; the gardens are a great place for locals to meet,” says Adele. One commenter the pub as “a centre of community, during the dark winters and sunny summers,” while another looked back on memories of “summer days, seeing local bands and DJ’s.”
Past ACV grants
Last year, the council listed the Prince of Wales pub in East Barnet as an ACV, following redevelopment rumours.
In March, Cheltenham Borough Council granted ACV status to The Bell on Bath Road after a petition gained 279 signatures.
Cheltenham Borough Council said residents stressed that the venue was “a vital hub for social interaction and recreational activities”.
the drinks business has contacted Star Pubs for comment.
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