• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Friday, June 20, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges

    MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges

    Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days

    Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days

    Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith

    Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith

    New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

    New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

    New vicar appointed for churches

    New vicar appointed for churches

    Award for Eden writer

    Award for Eden writer

    Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

    Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

  • Sport
    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges

    MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges

    Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days

    Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days

    Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith

    Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith

    New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

    New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

    New vicar appointed for churches

    New vicar appointed for churches

    Award for Eden writer

    Award for Eden writer

    Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

    Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

  • Sport
    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest

Future of loved village pub hangs in balance

by CWH
1 November 2022
in Latest, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Highland Drove Inn

It was a case of standing room only as Great Salkeld village hall was rammed with more than 100 people eager to hear about the fate of the village’s only pub, the Highland Drove Inn.

Residents turned up at a public meeting last Wednesday to find out why the Drove had closed at short notice on Sunday, October 16, and what its future might be. Among those present was the pub’s owner, Joshua Church.

Mr Church bought the Highland Drove, together with its sister pub the Cross Keys, Carleton, Penrith, following the departure of villagers Donald and Christine Newton, who had turned it into a popular gathering spot over 24 years.

Under their management, it built up a reputation for excellent food, attracting customers from far and wide, as well as being a drinking haunt and social centre for many locals. The 16th century inn also offered bed and breakfast accommodation.

Their tenure ended with a period of closure, after which it was bought by Mr Church and reopened 14 months ago. It has since had issues including problems retaining staff and serving food on a consistent basis. At the meeting, Mr Church explained his business model for country pubs, which is to buy them and then lease them out to tenants.

Describing himself as passionate about country pubs, he explained how in the first three months he charges no rent, to give the businesses a chance to become established, then gradually increases the rent at a rate that enables each tenant to grow their business.

Speaking later, he said: “Generally we buy pubs to keep them open ­— because we like them ­— and that’s our intention with the Highland Drove. The rooms need to be opened and food needs to be done.”

When challenged about this business model not working for the Highland Drove, he told the meeting it operated well with other establishments owned by his family business. The other pubs in its Cumbrian portfolio are the Huntsman, Cockermouth; Ship, Dovenby; Wheatsheaf Inn, Embleton; Little Arms, Cleator; Grey Goat, Baggrow; Tithe Barn, Cockermouth ­— now called Tithe Barn Hotel and Tithe Tap ­— and Old Mill Inn, Dearham.

However, the tenant of the Highland Drove, Joseph Gregory, claimed on Great Salkeld’s community Facebook page that he simply could not make the numbers add up, stating: “Sorry the pub is closed for the time being. The truth is that it’s just not sustainable in its current format.”

He is currently advertising for someone else to take over the lease and says some potential new tenants have come forward. In an advert on Facebook Marketplace, he says the pub has an annual maintainable turnover of £400,000 without rooms to let and £500,000 with.

However, at the public meeting some locals said they had been let down by Mr Gregory. They mentioned how one of the more profitable elements of the pub, the rooms, were taken out of service completely so an opportunity to generate extra income, particularly over the holiday periods, had been lost.

Also, the pub had stopped serving food and opened for limited hours due to staffing issues. In the time the pub was open, there was a high turnover of chefs.

Overall, they felt the pub had been “run down” while Mr Gregory focused on the other one he continues to run, the Cross Keys. Mr Gregory told the Herald the Highland Drove, was “changing hands and not closed”, with a new tenant set to come in, and that it had cost him £1,000 a week to keep it running for a year. “It has cost me a lot of money and I can’t keep funding that,” he said.

He described the pub’s room as not being of a suitable standard for letting and estimated the likely cost of rectifying this at £70,000, adding that there are staffing issues across the hospitality industry.

At the village hall meeting, there were cheers from the floor for former pub manager Justyna Maliszewska, who had kept it going as best she could under difficult circumstances. She sat by Mr Church’s side throughout the meeting.

Concerns were also raised about the pub possibly being sold off as a residential dwelling, to which Mr Church replied that he had no plans to sell. He explained that he rarely sells any of his pubs and if he did so then “the Highland Drove would be the last to go”.

Following an application by Great Salkeld Parish Council, the Highland Drove has been granted asset of community value status. Bev Pink, who chairs the parish council, said: “Given all the uncertainty surrounding the pub over the pandemic, we thought it best to apply for community asset status. This way, locals at least would be given a chance to save the pub and prevent it from being turned into a residential property which is the fate of many other rural pubs up and down the country.”

The meeting ended with Mr Church saying he would contact the current tenant and share with him the community’s concerns. He proposed several possible courses of action, one of which was his business taking the pub back into its control, running the rooms and finding someone else to run the restaurant and pub side of things.

He promised to keep the community updated on the situation, and many left the meeting more hopeful than when it started.

Related Posts

MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges
Latest

MP asks for Government help over plans to replace M6 bridges

20 June 2025
Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days
Latest

Resurfacing work to start in Shap – road to be closed for 21 days

20 June 2025
Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith
Latest

Arrests after drugs raid in Penrith

20 June 2025
New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose
News

New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

20 June 2025
New vicar appointed for churches
News

New vicar appointed for churches

20 June 2025
Award for Eden writer
News

Award for Eden writer

20 June 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

Eden man competes in Hyrox World Games

20 June 2025
Award for Eden writer

Award for Eden writer

20 June 2025
Looking back through the archives

Looking back through the archives

20 June 2025
New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

New Kirkby Stephen shop blends retail with purpose

20 June 2025
Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

Medal success for Upper Eden tug-of-war team

20 June 2025
Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

Penrith man admits possessing cannabis twice with intent to supply

20 June 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald