Pub closes six months after community takeover

A village pub has closed just six months after it reopened under the ownership of a community group.

The Black Lion, in Skelton-on-Ure, near Ripon, was bought by Skelton-on-Ure Pub and Hub Ltd, a community benefit society, in March 2024 for £240,000, after it was closed by its previous owners, Admiral Taverns, in 2019.

On Friday, the current tenants met with the society's committee and decided running the pub "was no longer sustainable."

Committee member Jane Mosley said: "It's a very, very difficult time in the hospitality industry and everything is so expensive to buy in, and I just think it's one of those things that it just hasn't worked out this time."

The Black Lion reopened in November 2025, after more than 18 months of renovations by community volunteers, with York-based couple Tadgh Barry and Mary Benson as tenants.

"Over the past six months, we have poured absolutely everything we had into trying to build something special here, financially, physically, emotionally and creatively," the couple shared on Instagram.

"Sadly, despite out very best efforts, the reality of the hospitality industry at the moment, particularly for independent rural pubs, has made it impossible for us to continue sustainably," they added.

The pub had initially opened as a café and small shop earlier in 2025 while the remaining renovation work continued.

Although the bar will call last orders on Saturday for the last time for the foreseeable future, the pub's committee are hoping they will be able to repurpose the building for alternative uses.

Mosley added: "We might look at different models, we need to think outside of the box. What's the best model to make this work? It might not be tenants, it might be we'll put a manager in, we might do other things in the interim.

"We've got rooms upstairs so they could potentially be Airbnb, there's all sorts that we can do and that we will do to keep it going.

"Fear not we will be back, it's not all doom and gloom. The Black Lion will be roaring again soon.

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