Community hub

A new community hub for Kingsbarns is happening!

One of our most ambitious projects is currently underway and nearing the finish line! The proposal for a community buy-out of the Inn at Kingsbarns is within our grasp.  As a reminder, this will serve as a much-needed Community Hub, to include a shop, café, pub, and restaurant.  A buy-out will also provide benefits to the local economy, including job creation.

We were absolutely delighted to have been awarded £590,000 from the Scottish Land Fund, which was a huge first step towards purchasing the pub. We’ve also had brilliant support for our Crowdfunder, and direct donations to KCDT, which means we have raised sufficient funds to purchase the Inn! And whilst this is AMAZING and we are blown away by everyone’s generosity, we still have fundraising to do to help with initial running costs and future development plans, to make the Inn a fantastic hub and asset for the community, which it so richly deserves.

For now, we have paused the Crowdfunder, as we would like to concentrate on a Community Share Offer, which will launch likely in May and facilitate the next chapter of fundraising and enable community members and other to have a stake in the new Community Hub! More information about the Community Share Offer will appear here soon.

Background and more info on the steps so far…

Feasibility study

After our successful bid for initial early-stage funding from the Scottish Land Fund, we have carried out a valuation of the Inn, and worked with Community Enterprise to conduct an independent feasibility study and draw up a business plan. These will help us make informed decisions about how to proceed with the project.

Research report

The full research report is available to download (PDF, 2.92 MB) and includes:

• demographic information about the Kingsbarns area
• a policy analysis on how our plans to create a community hub fit with national and local policies and strategies
• market research, case studies and a competitive analysis
• analysis of the community consultation and stakeholder interviews
• a partnership analysis of potential organisations we could work with
• a review of the asset itself, including current operations of the Inn at Kingsbarns
• an options appraisal of potential services
• financial projections and fundability
• governance and potential management models
• recommendations and next steps

Business plan

The full business plan is available to download (PDF, 555 KB) and includes:

• how it will meet the social outcomes of the Scottish Land Fund, which if we are successful in our funding application, will be one of our main funders for capital funding to purchase the building
• how we will deliver the project, including governance models, staffing, monitoring and evaluation and working partnerships
• a marketing and branding strategy to raise the profile of the Inn at Kingsbarns
• an analysis of potential customer groups for the bar, restaurant, cafe, shop and accommodation
• a funding strategy, including income generation, sustainability and financial projections

What about funding?

We are absolutely thrilled to have won an award of £590,000 from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) towards purchasing the pub. The Crowdfunder, launched in 2023 has been paused for the moment, as we concentrate on a Community Share Offer, to help raise funds for the next steps.

We’re also making applications to a number of other local and national funds which may be able to support the project.

Community shares

Working closely with the Plunkett Foundation, Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS) and Community Shares Scotland we have set up a Kingsbarns Community Benefit Society (KCBS), which will allow us to establish a community share offer for anyone interested in buying shares in the pub.

We’ll hold a community consultation on 18th April 2024 to provide more information about the process and the share offer. The cost of shares will be low to ensure everyone who wishes to help can do so. It would be really helpful to know if you might be interested in buying community shares, just to help us gauge potential financial support. Please let us know!

You can find out more about community shares, including the benefits of investing in a Community Share Offer, in the FAQs on the Community Share Scotland website.

Are you interested? Please get involved

We’re keen to hear from anyone who would like to help, particularly if you have experience in fundraising, or perhaps a background in finance, marketing, hospitality, business, legal, etc. 

Or if you’d simply like to be involved, regardless of experience or background, please get in touch. We’d like all the help we can get.

Kingsbarns can do this!

Small communities throughout Scotland have successfully bought pubs and hotels, giving local people the opportunity to run and grow a successful business that meets the needs of their community. We are looking forward to working together to make this happen for Kingsbarns!