Community pub nears £250k fundraising target

The owners of Hull's first community-run pub say they are nearing their target of raising £250,000 through the sale of community shares and hope to open in August.

The Hull Community Pub Society said it has until Easter Sunday to raise the final £47,000 worth of shares so it can reopen the New Clarence in the city centre.

Chair Simon Berry said: "When we hit the target we will have enough money to put the kitchen and cellar back in and fix the roof."

So far, 325 people have bought shares in the project, which Mr Berry said would be Hull's first wholly co-operatively run pub.

Mr Berry said: "It looks nice on the outside, but there is still a lot of interior work to be done.

"You can see why we need to raise the money.

"Please consider buying shares, from £100, and be part of something special."

Mr Berry, a former Paralympian, said the group was also raising money to install a lift and accessible toilets.

He said the New Clarence was previously well known as "a great real-ale pub and for its famous Sunday lunches" and the society was "committed to bringing all of that back".

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