Suffolk Pub wins Rural Community Business award

The George Community Pub has been crowned the winner of the ‘The One to Watch’ category kindly sponsored by Wise Investment at the 2025 Rural Community Business Awards, hosted by Plunkett UK.

The community-owned business is celebrated for working tirelessly over a ten-year period to raise around £2.5million to purchase and renovate the last pub in the village following a devastating fire in 2013. This important Grade II listed building at the centre of Wickham Market has now been saved and about to open again as a community pub, restaurant and activity wellbeing centre. It took two community share issues, a National Heritage Lottery grant and several other grants and sponsors to make this happen.

Over 50 volunteers have taken part with more than 10,000 volunteer hours spent to date.

Winners were announced at an awards ceremony held at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London on Thursday 3 July, sponsored by Lands Improvement.

More than 60 individuals from across the UK put forward their community business and individual champions for the nine categories in this year’s awards. Sarah Benn, Membership Manager at Plunkett UK, says, “It has been a great joy to recognise and celebrate all of the finalists at this Rural Community Business Awards. Each one is truly dedicated to making a difference in their community, and having a considerable impact on the lives of local people in a variety of different ways. Well done to all of this year’s winners - their award is very much deserved!”

Plunkett UK is a national charity which supports people in rural areas to set up and run a wide range of businesses in community ownership. It does this to achieve its UK-wide vision for resilient, thriving and inclusive rural communities. There are more than 800 community-owned businesses across the UK, and each one is democratically owned by community members. They can be any type of business ranging from village shops, pubs and cafes, through to woodlands, fisheries and farms.

For more information about the Awards go to: https://plunkett.co.uk/rural-community-business-awards/

The rear of The George on 27th January. The ‘chimney’ takes the ventilation and extraction systems from the kitchen and bar areas and has been designed to minimise the noise and fume output in accordance with the latest planning and building regulations.

The whole building will be acoustically tested with all its plant operating before the approval to open can be granted by the planning authorities.