Campaigners battling to save popular Portsmouth pub toast “big win for the little people”

Drayton residents angered by Greene King’s decision to close the Manor House in Court Lane have landed a blow to the national chain’s hopes of a quick sale after Portsmouth City Council has today announced it will register the pub as an asset of community value (ACV).

Greene King had slapped the Manor House on the market for £1.1m in the last few days but the authority’s decision has now left the operator with a bloody nose. The Manor House now being on the register “interferes with the owners' freedoms to dispose of it”, the council had said, and now faces the prospect of having to wait over six months to sell the venue. Campaigners, known as the Manor House Committee, will have that period of time to come up with the cash to purchase the pub after confirming their wish to buy it. 

Brad Gudgeon, of campaign group Save the Manor House, said: “It is a big win for the little people. We are absolutely buzzing, this is a huge win for the community. The potential work going forward is daunting to say the least but we are up for the challenge.”  

A post on the campaign group’s social media page said: “I received an email from (the council) confirming we have been granted the ACV status. It's taken us a minute to calm down. We had a good feeling about it, but to see it in writing has completely blown our minds.

“(The council) received almost 150 letters of support from you wonderful people and local councillors. We knew you wrote in, but that number is incredible. Thank you so much for supporting the application.

“We know that this is just the first hurdle; there is so much work to do and no guarantee we will be able to buy the pub but let's enjoy celebrating this huge win. Achieving an ACV status is no easy feat.

“Well done to all of you. We couldn't have achieved any of this without you all offering knowledge of the pub, advice, and most of all, the outstanding support. The testimonials included in our application helped us convey exactly why the pub needs to be saved. Thank you.”

A council letter to the campaign group said: “I write to notify you that Portsmouth City Council, the responsible authority, has after careful consideration decided to accept the nomination from the Manor House Committee for the Manor House Pub and place it on the Register of Successful Nominations.”

In the council’s written reasons, the authority said there has been “significant community support for the retention of the pub” with there “no reason to believe it could not be operated with the right approach”. It added: “The use of the Manor House Pub furthers the social wellbeing or interest of the local community, is not an ancillary use, and has shown that it will be able to continue to operate into the future.”

The city council said the public interest of placing it on the community register outweighed the “possible interference with the owner's property rights, which can be considered mitigated by the opportunity for compensation in appropriate cases”.

A Greene King spokesperson said: “We made the difficult decision last year to close The Manor House and the pub is now up for sale. We note the building is now listed as an asset of community value and as part of the sale process we will ensure we carry out all our responsibilities in this respect.”