Sadly, the pub closed in September 2018. The purpose of this site is to explore the possibility of making the Maltsters Arms a Community Pub. There are many successful examples of this happening as discussed in the section Community.
The owners of the pub are Heavitree Brewery who acquired it in 2006. After the previous landlord gave up the pub in 2015 it was put on the market by the owners for approximately £180,000. It remained closed for about 12 months and then in 2016, the last landlord, John, negotiated a lease on the pub to run from 29 Apr 2006 for 15 years, and the pub was reopened.
Unfortunately, according to Heavitree, John sent the keys back in September 2018 and left. John had struggled to make the pub work during the two and a half years he was there. There are many reasons for this, some of which are looked at in the Issues section.
There is a possibility that Heavitree Brewery will decide to apply for a Change-of-Use and sell it as a residential property. This would mean the loss of the pub. Harbertonford, the biggest village in the immediate area, would then be the only one without a pub. Can this be allowed to happen ?
There is general recognition of the importance of a pub in a community. It is even recognised by central government which is why there is a Community Pubs Minister; Jake Berry MP. The pub has suffered from years of neglect and lack of investment. As a community pub the Maltsters Arms has a much better chance of taking its proper place in the life of Harbertonford.
lat: 50.392812 N, lon: -3.711880 E
Church House Inn, Harberton | 1.8m (3.0km) |
Waterman’s Arms, Tukenhay | 1.9m (3.1km) |
Maltsters Arms, Tuckenhay | 2.0m (3.2km) |
New Inn, Halwell | 2.0m (3.2km) |
Durant Arms, Ashprington | 2.4m (3.8km) |
Community Pubs are often used as small spaces for activities like:
- Somewhere for local artists to display there work.
- A place for District and County Councillors to hold surgeries
- Mini library and book exchange
- etc
