August 2022
The Support Our Yew Tree Community Interest Company has now written to the owners to make an offer to buy the Yew Tree Inn, Cliffords Mesne.
We intend to raise the capital for the purchase and restoration of the Yew Tree Inn through the sale of shares in the Community Interest Company and by a Government Grant.
The Community Ownership Fund, which is run by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, wrote to us on 14 July 2022 to say “We are pleased to inform you that your Expression of Interest application has indicated that you have a high chance of being found eligible for the Fund. We would like to invite you to submit a full application at a time that is right for your project.”
The maximum grant we are eligible for is £300,000. The actual amount we could get depends upon how much is raised through the sale of shares and a professional assessment of the Yew Tree's market value.
Although the owners have informed the Forest of Dean District Council of their intention to dispose of this listed Asset of Community Value, they have not tried to market it as a pub and so there is no professional assessment of market value. We asked for pemission for a valuer to be given access to carry out an assessment so that a report could be prepared for our committee, but this was declined.
In these circumstances, we have relied on the guidance given by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in its booklet “The capital and rental valuation of public houses, bars, restaurants and nightclubs in England and Wales”, together with the Yew Tree's sale price at recent changes of ownership in preparing our bid.
We will keep you informed of developments.