Published in the Yorkshire Post on Thursday 31 March 2011

Members of the committee to save the Foresters Arms pub at Carlton, from left, Raymond Brown, Tony Jones, Kevin Utley and Richard Gardner. Pictures: Gary Longbottom

It is known as the forgotten dale – a wild, steep corner of the national park where travellers on the old stagecoach route from London to Richmond would be warned to keep their affairs in order when passing through.

For those rattling along the narrow paths over the Yorkshire Dales at Coverdale in the 18th and 19th centuries, the only solace would be that around the next hair-raising corner was a restorative pint in one of the many pubs nestling en route.

As the decades passed and industry dwindled, so too did the passing traffic – and the coaching inns began to close their doors.

But when time was called on the Foresters Arms at Carlton earlier this year, leaving Coverdale with just one pub left, villagers in the forgotten dale decided to stand up and make their voices heard.

A Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) planning meeting in January agreed to dramatically reduce the pub in size and convert most of the building into three houses.

Planning chiefs say it was believed the move would help keep the ailing business open.

But soon after the Foresters Arms closed and its previous owners started stripping away some of the interior, sparking fears that it would never open again.

Now a group of villagers from across the dale have established a committee to take over the pub. They are spending £3,000 to buy up cherished fixtures and fittings including an historic table believed to have come from nearby Coverham Abbey, and have helped persuade YDNPA planners to backtrack over the decision and refuse to change the building to residential use.

Raymond Brown, 46, chairman of the committee which includes farmers, accountants and even a knight of the realm, said: “I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support.

"This shows the wealth of affection that people in rural communities have for their pubs. We used to have a school and three shops in the village and now there are none.

This is something that communities themselves need to fight for.

We have had a succession of landlords come and go and we are really going to try and make a go of this.

We are prepared to do whatever we can to secure a pub for the future of the dale.”

The Carlton in Coverdale group have been given assistance by Paul Cullen, chairman of the Hudswell village co-operative, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, which raised £200,000 to buy their pub after it closed in 2008.

Mr Brown says they need to raise around £300,000 to buy up the Foresters Arms.

A website has already been set up, while pledge forms and Lord Kitchener-style posters asking for people’s backing are now being distributed across the dale.

Another member of the committee, Sir Richard Gardner, a professor of embryonic stem cell research who moved to Carlton in Coverdale after retiring from Oxford University, said: “It was very depressing when the pub closed.

Part of the charm of the pub was it was the best way to get to know people in the community.

We have got to know a lot of people through going there.

I don’t think anybody involved in this has any inclination to run a pub, but if we buy it communally then we can appoint people to run it.

If we manage to raise the money, this will be a huge achievement for the village.”

Mr Brown was one of a number of villagers who made an impassioned plea to the YDNPA planning authority to persuade them that the decision they made in January was wrong.

The head of planning at the YDNPA, Peter Watson, said: “In January, the committee voted to approve a potential change to residential use.

The situation changed in that time and they received information that the pub had been closed and stripped out and there was a high level of concern whether it was to remain a pub.

Members were concerned by the turn of events that it might be a sign that the facility was being lost.

Pubs like this are absolutely vital. Most rural areas are losing facilities like pubs and shops.

Our priority is to protect them wherever we can."

“The committee resolved to refuse the application for the change of use and it will now go back before a meeting in April for a final decision.”

Published in the Darlington & Stockton Times Friday 18th March 2011

Over 80 local residents of Carlton in Coverdale showed they were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping their village pub open at a public meeting arranged to discuss the future of the Foresters Arms.

Held in the village Hall, the meeting attracted a large number of concerned locals hoping to discuss the situation relating to the village pub that closed it doors several weeks ago and is now for sale at the asking price of £225,000.

Chairing the meeting, parish councillor Raymond Brown explained how important the pub was to the village and the purpose of the meeting was to explore ways of seeing it re-open.

Mr Martin Booth who as a member of the committee, helped organise the community purchase of the George and Dragon at Hudswell gave an illustrated talk. Explaining the steps taken to set up this successful venture, Mr Booth outlined the structure of the community partnership. There were approximately 200 people who invested the majority of the money necessary to buy the pub.

Tenants working closely with the community are now running the business, which following payment of the rent is to pay a dividend of about 3% to the shareholders. Mr Booth was thanked for his very clear presentation and the ensuing questions showed strong interest in a similar purchase of the Foresters Arms.

One complication to any potential purchaser is a pending planning application to convert part of the property into housing. The initial hearing supported by a report commissioned by the National Park was held in January. The previous occupants Claire and Andrew Pritchard who wanted a partial change of use to form three two-bed roomed dwellings for local occupancy made the application.

Those present at the meeting were urged to write to the planning authority, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and express their opinion. Any potential objectors were also encouraged to attend the planning meeting at 10.30am on Tuesday April 12th at the National Park offices at Bainbridge when the final decision on the application will be taken.

A potential commercial purchaser of the Foresters Arms was welcomed to the meeting by the chairman Mr Brown, who stressed that the interest of the meeting was primarily in seeing the Foresters re-open. He explained,“ Anyone looking to purchase the pub can draw strength from the support of the community demonstrated here tonight.”

It was pointed out however that community ownership would put the community in control of the situation with the pub, which they felt had a chequered history recently.

A show of hands from those present indicated a substantial majority in favour of investigating the possibility of community ownership with a steering group formed. Those interested in supporting the venture left their contact details at the end of the meeting.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Brown said,“ Due to the support shown at the meeting we are to form a committee to progress the idea and are looking for those interesting in investing in the venture to give pledges of support. I am happy to hear from anyone, not just those who live in Carlton.

Anyone not present at the meeting but interested in supporting a community purchase of the Foresters Arms should contact Mr Raymond Brown on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 07712 677616.