Rishi joined villagers in Hudswell to mark the reopening of the George and Dragon with new tenants at the helm.
Rishi visited on opening day to meet Sam Harrison and Becky Westgarth, members of the pub committee and local residents.
Rishi heard of the plans that Sam and Becky have for the future of the George and Dragon, including updates to the food offer, maintaining its strong cask ale reputation and carrying out minor improvements to the interior.
The George and Dragon was established as a community pub in 2010, after a period of closure, when villagers came together to secure its future. It has since won multiple awards and become a recognised example of how communities can successfully protect valued village assets.
The pub is owned by Hudswell Community Pub Ltd, a co-operative and community benefit society created to protect the site for the long-term.
Mr Sunak has long supported community owned pubs across the Richmond and Northallerton constituency and discussed the importance of pubs as social hubs and crucial assets for rural villages.
Rishi said:
“It was a pleasure to join everyone in Hudswell for the reopening of the George and Dragon and to welcome Sam and Becky as they take on this much-loved pub”.
“This pub has an outstanding story behind it, with local people stepping forward to save their pub and I wish Sam and Becky much success.”
Sam and Becky said:
“It was great to welcome Rishi, especially on our opening day and it gave everyone a boost”.
“Our plans for the pub are to build on everything that people already value about the pub. We’ll be making some small improvements to the interior, but making sure we keep the character and charm that make the pub so special.”
Sam and Becky also run the Green Dragon in Exelby and bring experience of running successful rural pubs. Their arrival has been warmly welcomed by villagers keen to see the George and Dragon continue to thrive.
The pub was recently used as a filming location for Our Yorkshire Pub, with the episode expected to air later this year.
