Government minister and MP welcomed at the Blue Bell in Cocking

Nigel Huddleston, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Heritage, enjoyed an evening drink and learned more about how villagers clubbed together to buy the building and reopen it as a pub.

Mr Huddleston had planned to stay overnight in one of the newly-opened BnB rooms at the pub before attending the open-air sports event at Goodwood Racetrack, which was cancelled at the last minute.

However his visit to the pub went ahead and he was welcomed by members of the steering committee, the inhouse team led by the new manager Steve Hodges and local villagers.

He was also joined by Gillian Keegan, the MP for Chichester, and her husband Michael, who spent time chatting to the locals in the open air before enjoying a meal in the pub’s restaurant.

Mr Huddleston learned that after the Bluebell pub closed in 2017, the building lay empty for nearly two years before being considered in early 2019 for redevelopment as a housing project.

The local community realised the potential loss to village life, and a committee led by chairman Peter Gibbons was set up to raise the necessary funds to revive it as a Community Hub.

A huge fundraising effort followed locally and further afield and – with 153 shareholders on board and support from grant funding and important sponsors – the building was purchased for the community in April 2019.

A Community Benefit Society was formed to own and develop it and the Blue Bell at Cocking opened its doors in December.

The pandemic forced it to close in March, but the team took the opportunity to complete an external refurbishment of the building during the lockdown – including adding extra outdoor seating space which has been popular with cyclists, walkers and tourists visiting the South Downs. It reopened to customers on July 17, with social distancing measures in place.