The Group made a successful application to East Herts District Council to have The Bull listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).  A copy of the application which was made is below, together with the letter of 28 September 2022 from the Council informing us that the application had been approved.

The main effect of the listing of The Bull as an ACV is that, if Punch Pubs decided to sell the pub, there would be a moratorium period of 6 months during which the Group could try to put together a bid to buy the pub on behalf of the community.  At the end of the first six weeks of this moratorium period the Group would need to say whether it intended to make a bid.  If no intention is expressed, Punch Pubs would be able to go ahead with the proposed sale of the pub.

It is important to note that Punch Pubs would be under no obligation to sell the pub to the community even if the latter's bid was the highest.

Links to East Herts Council's guidance on Assets of Community Value, together with guidance issued by other organisations about community 'buy out' of pubs, are below.

East Herts Council’s guidance on Assets of Community Value - https://www.eastherts.gov.uk/community-and-health/assets-community-value-acv

CAMRA’s guidance on ‘Saving Your Local Pub’ - https://www1-camra.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/22150621/Saving-Your-Local-Pub-England-2021-COVID-edit.pdf

Plunkett Foundation: Community Pubs: A Better Form of Business - https://plunkett.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Plunkett_BB-2020_Pubs.pdf