The Seven Stars, Piddington
The Seven Stars pub in Piddington is for sale and as a result a steering committee has been formed, consisting of a group of people from the village who want to save the pub and see it re-open.
For most villages a pub is a vital service; it is a meeting place, communication centre and an important lynchpin of village life. Much of the appeal of Piddington rests on its sense of community and having a pub again would greatly enhance that community spirit.
We want to do everything we can to support its success not just for people who live in Piddington but for residents of other villages who would enjoy its services and hospitality.
For most villages a pub is a vital service; it is a meeting place, communication centre and an important lynchpin of village life. Much of the appeal of Piddington rests on its sense of community and having a pub again would greatly enhance that community spirit.
We want to do everything we can to support its success not just for people who live in Piddington but for residents of other villages who would enjoy its services and hospitality.
The Seven Stars public house, surrounded by elm trees. The Seven Stars has had mixed fortunes – in 1836 it was said to be flourishing, but in the 1930s it lost its licence; by the 1950s it had been modernised and was ‘extremely prosperous’. In recent years it has been a restaurant (‘The Sunset and Stars’), a tapas bar (‘Cootz’) and once again a village pub called The Seven Stars. In 2012 it closed until further notice.
Photo: Dave Hearmon
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Taken outside The Seven Stars, mid 1960s. All of them were regulars at the pub.
Back row: John Walters, Walter Ash, ?, ?, Roland
Hawkins
Middle row: George Hickman, David Jackson, David Davies, Bill Parker, ?,
Front row: Ron Bayliss, Norman Deeley, Les Corby, George Reynolds.
Photo: Len Ash
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How you can help
There are a number of ways you can help save the Seven Stars.
You can:
You can:
- Join the committee and be part of the steering group.
- If you have relevant and valuable skills (such as legal, accountancy, commercial property buying/selling/development) you could donate some time to the group and provide advice and guidance.
- If you’re experienced in hospitality management or if you’ve been involved in similar community led initiates, come along to a meeting and share your knowledge and experience.
- Make a financial donation or loan or buy shares in the pub to help us secure funds for the purchase and renovation.
- Support the committee by attending the meetings, taking part in the discussions, and providing your input.
Survey
It’s important for us to gather as much information as possible from residents of Piddington and the surrounding villages. We need to know your views on the pub, if it would receive your support and what services you’d like it to provide. This will help build a solid business plan that reflects the needs of the community, vital for us to source and secure adequate funding.
If you haven’t already done so, please can you complete your survey too. Please be as honest and realistic as possible in your answers, your response will be treated in confidence and is anonymous, unless you wish to add your name at the end. The survey can be found on this link: https://forms.gle/8s1Tahe2qhCK1hUi6
If you haven’t already done so, please can you complete your survey too. Please be as honest and realistic as possible in your answers, your response will be treated in confidence and is anonymous, unless you wish to add your name at the end. The survey can be found on this link: https://forms.gle/8s1Tahe2qhCK1hUi6
Latest news
Thank you again to everyone who joined us at the public meeting on Wednesday 6th April, we appreciate all the support we have from the village. Following the meeting we contacted the estate agent looking after the sale and have, what we believe is positive news regarding the future of the Seven Stars.
They said they'd received a few offers over the asking price of £400,000 and were aware of the terms of sale (the asset of community value). They also said that they would accept an offer from the village but it had to be competitive and in the region of £400,000 and not the lower price of £350,000 that was originally put on the table. This increase in the buy price has a significant impact on the budget and funding calculations we've been working on.
They did say that the potential buyers who've submitted offers want to keep the site as a pub plus cafe, not develop it as we had feared. One interested party also owns the Blackbird pub in Padbury said they'd replicate the format they have there which involves inviting street food style vans for the catering, instead of installing a new commercial kitchen.
The groups intention has always been to do our best to ensure the Seven Stars re opens as a pub so with this in mind, we believe the best course of action is to support the sale and look forward to the opening of the pub in the village in the near future. As always we would love to hear your opinion on this so please send your comments or suggestions to sevenstars@piddingtonvillageoxfordshire.org.uk.
Once again, thank you to everyone in the village for their support of this project and we will continue to keep you up to date with any progress.
They said they'd received a few offers over the asking price of £400,000 and were aware of the terms of sale (the asset of community value). They also said that they would accept an offer from the village but it had to be competitive and in the region of £400,000 and not the lower price of £350,000 that was originally put on the table. This increase in the buy price has a significant impact on the budget and funding calculations we've been working on.
They did say that the potential buyers who've submitted offers want to keep the site as a pub plus cafe, not develop it as we had feared. One interested party also owns the Blackbird pub in Padbury said they'd replicate the format they have there which involves inviting street food style vans for the catering, instead of installing a new commercial kitchen.
The groups intention has always been to do our best to ensure the Seven Stars re opens as a pub so with this in mind, we believe the best course of action is to support the sale and look forward to the opening of the pub in the village in the near future. As always we would love to hear your opinion on this so please send your comments or suggestions to sevenstars@piddingtonvillageoxfordshire.org.uk.
Once again, thank you to everyone in the village for their support of this project and we will continue to keep you up to date with any progress.
Contact us
For all questions and enquiries you can:
Email: sevenstars@piddingtonvillageoxfordshire.org.uk
Phone: Mike Newbury on 07769 690217
Email: sevenstars@piddingtonvillageoxfordshire.org.uk
Phone: Mike Newbury on 07769 690217
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