The Duncombe Arms….an update.

 Hello readers!

As I guess most of you already know, the Duncombe Arms closed its doors on Christmas Eve, 2023. A sad day for the village as this is the first time for many years that we haven’t had a pub. However, the owners decided that the existing state of affairs could not continue any longer and in any case the guy who was Head Chef and basically ran the place, seemed to have become disillusioned with the life of a landlord and was hankering after a more secure income for his undoubted cooking skills – he is, by the way, a very good chef. The family which owns the pub has spent some time renovating and updating the building, which is Grade II listed, prior to putting the putting it up for sale in the first part of 2024.

There followed numerous false starts with regard to a sale and nothing much materialised over the spring and early summer of 2024. During this time the Parish Council got the Duncombe Arms listed as a Communnity Asset. This is now been done and this listing blocks the Sale for any non-Public House use for the next 10 years. At the same time the village got its act together and assembled a voluteer group to work with the Plunkett Foundation to work out how to maximise this asset for the benefit of the village. The current owners are keen that the pub remains a centre of community activity but there are challenges. Not least of which is that there are several active community centres within a small village; the Village Hall, which has to raise funds to survive; the church and it’s associated fundraising Friends of St James; the Cricket Club which equally needs money. Then there are the other hospitality site in the village, such as the Waresley Park Garden Centre, with its well established Café and of course the newly opened café and coffee shop at Waresley Park Stud, both of whom have attractive offerings to compete with any revitalised Duncombe Arms.

However, having said all that, I understand that late last year the owners received a bid from a local company running a small group of pubs in the Hertfordshire and South Cambridgeshire area and this has been progressing. However, progress has been painfully slow and as of today (20th January 2025) there is no progress that can be seen, although I do understand negotiations are continuing.

We are ever hopeful…….

Sapientis