OAK Community Update - December 2025

On Sunday 14th December, OAK directors Judith Gardner, Kim Greig and Hattie Budd gave an update on the progress of the project and answered questions from the community. A transcript of the session follows below. If you have questions about the OAK project, the plans for the renovation of The Oxford Arms, our events programme, or our fundraising, get in touch at info@openarmskington.co.uk, or join us for our next Community Q & A in the early spring. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels for a date and a time.

Update from the directors

Building Update

OAK is working with Brownhill Hayward Brown, specialist heritage architects, to develop the plans for the renovation of the building. This is funded and supported by our Development Grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The renovated Oxford Arms will include a lift to the first floor (the viability of the lift installation has recently been confirmed by our structural engineer).

Our structural engineer has also confirmed that the building is much older than it looks; the architects and the structural engineer have suggested that the entombed timber frame of the lower two storeys of the main building date from the late 15th century, with the top floor having been added in the 17th century. This is very much older than our Grade II-listing information, which puts the date of construction in the 18th century! We will have a dendrochronology survey done in spring 2026, prior to any renovation work, to put a definite date on the initial construction of The Oxford.

We also had a preliminary bat roost survey done in August; this will need to be followed by a second observation survey in late spring 2026 when their hibernation period is over. We’ve never seen any bats at The Oxford, but it is a requirement to undertake this survey before Listed Building Consent will be granted for the commencement of work (this includes any renovation of the envelope, waterproofing, repairing windows, etc.).

Finally, we have also undertaken visualisation sessions with our architects to finalise the design of the interior. The next step, before the architects prepare the RIBA Stage 3 drawings, will be to obtain Listed Building Consent based on the revised plans. We have a visit from Herefordshire Council’s listed buildings department scheduled in the new year. We already have planning consent for the works we will undertake.

We are all very aware that The Oxford looks the same from the outside as it has for some time (indeed, on some measures it looks worse than it ever has!). But this gives a false impression, because we are now much closer to completing the plans for the substantial renovation project that will bring The Oxford up to modern standards in terms of electrical and fire safety, accessibility, fixtures and fittings, and decor.

Timeline

According to our current schedule, we have until March 2026 to prepare draft plans for a development review meeting with the Heritage Fund. If they are happy with our progress at this meeting, we can submit our bid for the Delivery Phase grant in May. We won’t hear back about this until September. Assuming we’re successful, we will still need to wait for a couple of months after this while legal matters are finalised before we receive the “Permission to Start”. At that point, our architects can put work out to tender to get the renovation work underway. We hope that by next Christmas the renovations will have started.

Events Update

The Oxford Arms opened on 168 days in 2025 for events, groups, courses, support networks, and more.

As well as our weekend events, we host several midweek events and groups. We’re a part of the national Places of Welcome network, and every Wednesday morning The Oxford is open from 10am to 12.30pm as a Place of Welcome for anyone who wants to drop in for a chat and free teas and coffees. Places of Welcome is an important community resource, alleviating loneliness and offering an opportunity for people to socialise, have conversations and meet others at no cost. We regularly have 10-12 (or more) attendees at our weekly PoW sessions, and absolutely everyone is welcome to join.

The first Wednesday morning of each month is also Sunflower Social, a support group for people with hidden disabilities. The second Wednesday of the month we’re joined by Dementia Matters to offer support to people affected by dementia, including carers. On the third Wednesday of the month, the local social prescriber visits to support anyone who needs medical advice or help but who can’t easily get to the surgery.

Every Tuesday, Kington Veterans Association meets in our barn, and the Kington Knit and Natter group meets at The Oxford some Saturday mornings.

We hosted chair yoga sessions throughout the summer; these have now moved to Markwick Hall for the winter because our barn floor is uneven and unsuitable for stretching on chairs!

We have some exciting events coming up in the new year, including another visit from our artist-in-residence Maya Rose Edwards, a day of poetry in association with Ledbury Poetry, we’ll be doing Let’s Dance! again in March, and much, much more. We’ll continue hosting events right up until we have to close the whole site for the start of renovation work.

Fundraising Update

We have been working closely with the Heritage Fund throughout 2025, and they are aware of the size and cost of the project and the scale of the work required. The cost of the renovations will exceed £1.5 million. We will apply to the Heritage Fund next May for 60-70% of these costs; the remainder will come from other funders. We have some really positive news that we can now announce: we secured a large capital grant from Herefordshire Council at the start of December which will provide a large chunk of our match-funding. It’s important to stress that we can’t spend any of this money until we reach the Delivery Phase and begin our capital works programme; for now, the money is secured but not in the bank. We also have multiple applications at advanced stages with other funding bodies, which will hopefully bear fruit in 2026.

There is also our 100 Club, which is a crucial contribution towards our day-to-day running costs. There are a few spaces left if you’d like to join: it costs £10 per month, you’ll be making a real difference to this community organisation, and each month there’s a £200 jackpot to one lucky winner! Click on the button below to find out more.

Governance and Operations

The Development Phase project is overseen by our project manager, an evaluation consultant, and a business planner consultant, working alongside the OAK directors, secretary, admin and community engagement staff, and our volunteer team. At the moment, the directors are in a constant stream of meetings as we work alongside our consultants, architects, surveyors and engineers to develop our plans according to a tight schedule.

We have a new director coming into the organisation in the new year; watch this space for further details. We still seek additional directors, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested to know more.

Audience Q & A

What will be the first thing you’ll do when you get the funding?

Assuming that we are successful in our application for a Delivery Phase grant from the Heritage Fund, all work on the building will be overseen and contracted by the architects, so this will be up to them. They are experienced specialists in heritage restoration projects. However, one thing we know is that a new electrical connection will need to be installed from the local substation to bring the electrical system up to phase 3 (the whole area of Kington around Duke Street still has the old phase 2 connection and also needs upgrading in due course). It’s likely that this will be one of the first jobs, since contractors will need an adequate power supply, and this alone will cost over £80,000.

How can you submit your Delivery Phase application in May if the bat survey isn’t undertaken until May?

We’ve had our first bat survey; the planning officers and Heritage Fund know this, and they also know that bats can’t be surveyed while they’re hibernating over the winter! The Heritage Fund are happy to proceed on the basis that we undertake an observation survey at the earliest opportunity.

You mentioned that the building is much older than it looks; will you be restoring the building to how it looked at an earlier stage, or keep the outer shell as it is?

The entombed timber frame that we will have surveyed with dendrochronology is a crucial part of the structure but, on the advice of our structural engineer, the entombed beams must be supported and reinforced, so we can’t simply expose them. We hope to be able to reveal some of the timber frame (even if behind glass panels), possibly also one or more of the very ancient fireplaces, but the only elements that we plan to completely remove are the 20th century additions that have no historical value (such as the bar and panelling). Our plan for celebrating the heritage of The Oxford goes beyond the building; we’re keen to emphasise how important The Oxford has been to Kington for many centuries and to celebrate its role in the town, its history and its economy.

Is OAK planning to set up a charitable arm to the organisation?

At the moment, OAK is set up as a Community Interest Company. The building and site is, and will permanently remain, a community asset run by a community organisation. We are considering establishing a charitable arm to assist in our fundraising efforts and to ensure that OAK is set up on the best terms for the long term, but this is something that is only at the planning stage at present.

Can you explain more about the Delivery Phase application to the Heritage Fund?

We have a development review meeting with the Heritage Fund in March, and the Heritage Fund will only let us apply in May if they are confident that we are ready. It’s a complex application with many supporting documents, including plans for the coming years, finances, business planning, architects’ drawings, and much more. If necessary, we can postpone our application until as late as November 2026 (but we are very keen to stick to the May submission timetable!).

Have there been any challenges?

Of course—we are acutely aware that there is some frustration in Kington because it seems that nothing is happening on the building. We completely understand people’s frustration that The Oxford still isn’t open, we would love to open the doors but legally we cannot do so until the building is updated to meet fire safety and electrical regulations. The Oxford has become dilapidated over the last 50 years, with many bodge jobs, patch ups and temporary fixes, so we’re going to ensure that the upcoming renovations are done properly and that the building will be safe and secure for decades to come. We want The Oxford to be there for many generations of future Kingtonians, and substantial renovations are essential if that’s to be the case.

We also recently started posting monthly community updates to share the progress of the long process to reopening. You’ll find them on our website, and the latest update is posted in our bay windows. If you have any additional questions or concerns about the project, get in touch via info@openarmskington.co.uk, come to our next Community Q & A, or simply come down while we’re open! We are happy to discuss what we’re doing with anyone who is interested, and always welcome new faces.

Being optimistic, how soon do you think it will be before The Oxford reopens?

If all goes according to our current plans and we have no unforeseen delays, we hope to open in late spring 2027, though this very much depends on whether the renovation programme proceeds according to plan! We’ll keep the community updated if we do meet any delays. It’s worth noting that Heritage Fund projects usually take 5 or more years; we received our Heritage Fund Development Grant in January 2025 so we’re still in the relatively early stages, but we’re working flat out to advance our plans as fast as we can and reopen The Oxford as soon as possible.