Local Celebrity Backs Community Bid to Save Pub!
Tamzin Outhwaite (photo by Paul Hansen)
The actress Tamzin Outhwaite - best known for playing Mel Owen in Eastenders and star of the military drama Red Cap and Hotel Babylon - has pledged support to her local community to help bring their village pub under community ownership.
The Fox Inn is a Grade II listed 18th Century pub and restaurant in The Bartons in North Oxfordshire. Formerly a 2012 CAMRA award-winning pub, over the past decade it has changed ownership and ‘tied’ tenants frequently, meaning it has often been closed for significant periods of time.
To safeguard its future, villagers formed a voluntary community group and successfully applied for ACV (Asset of Community Value) status for The Fox - it was officially reclassified as community asset in 2021.
The freehold of The Fox is now for sale, and the village wants its pub back!
Tamzin says; "We moved to the area in 2019, and we absolutely love it here. The Fox was a lovely, traditional village pub, and it’s a big part of the reason we chose to make a home here. Every village needs a pub, and The Fox was a hub for everything that happens in the Middle Barton. I have pledged my support and would encourage others to do so too. Even if you don't live here, this is about saving a very precious bit of village life."
Leading the on the community’s bid, Richard Brown MBE, said; “The local community has signalled overwhelming support for the Save our Fox campaign. In just a few weeks we received pledges for £122,750 for the campaign. We are so proud that our community is supporting this so fully, we still need this and more to convert to shares and put in a bid before the deadline of December 27th.”
Tamzin explains; "I believe we should all help where we can, which is why I founded the group ‘We Free Women’. I am really looking forward to working with the community owners to keep The Fox local – plus, I also have a passion for upcycling furniture, and as the pub is being sold completely empty, the community can count on me to help."
For more information and to support the campaign, please visit www.ourfox.org
For Further information on this story please contact:
Richard C Brown MBE