Open Arms Kington (OAK) are delighted to announce that the sale of the Oxford Arms has successfully gone through. This is fantastic news for the Open Arms Kington team who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get to this point. But more importantly this is great news for Kington that the Oxford that has been so well loved over the years is being kept for the community.
OAK were hoping to have been able to open the Oxford Arms for business again soon but they have essential works to complete first which include undertaking some structural renovation. This is a fantastic building, Medieval in origin and they will be making sure they look after it for generations to come. It looks though like this all may take them longer than they had originally hoped and so they are looking at a phased reopening as the work progresses.
But this doesn’t mean everything shuts down. This project was all about being able to use the pub for the town and the community in Kington as a meeting place, so through this summer they will be using the outside space to host a programme of events to which everyone will be welcome.
Nearly two years of feasibility studies, grant writing, fundraising and consultation have brought things together at last. Thanks go to everyone who has cheered them on their way and for the support of the Department of Levelling Up’s Community Ownership Fund, the Architectural Heritage Fund, the National Lottery Community Fund and other local donors.
