The story so far…
Volunteer-led, Open Arms Kington (OAK) is a combined commercial and social enterprise that works to contribute to Kington’s social and economic regeneration and help build long-term community viability and resilience.
OAK came into being during 2021, when a small group of people came together out of a shared concern about the future viability of Kington. COVID had brought into sharp focus issues of remoteness, rurality and isolation affecting people in the community, particularly the young but also many disabled and older people without family close by. The group discovered that The Oxford Arms was on the market, and had been for some time, and we had an idea: purchase The Oxford Arms, maintain it as a ‘local’ and at the same time, develop it into a sustainably financed community resource for Kington – a community hub.
We called our group Open Arms Kington and we set about finding more volunteers to come on board and consulting the local community through questionnaires, presentations, information-sharing and new conversations. The positive feedback this generated was the local backing we needed to continue and helped shape up our vision.
Our story began in 2021 with a shared concern and then an idea…
The vision at the heart of OAK…
To create an inclusive and vibrant community hub – a place where good things happen every day, celebrating collective action and strengthening individual and community resilience… If we could achieve this at The Oxford Arms, Kington would have a dilapidated landmark heritage building repaired and conserved AND a central social venue, a place where people of all ages and backgrounds interconnect, share energy and support, inspire and find inspiration, joy and meaning.
Officially OAK – a Community Interest Company
By mid-2021 we had registered Open Arms Kington (OAK) with Companies House as a community interest company or CIC. This is a not-for-profit governance model limited by guarantee, meaning that we trade as a business but surplus income is used for the community related benefits we will offer. It also means any property bought by OAK such as The Oxford Arms is asset-locked, i.e., OAK’s directors cannot sell the property on for personal gain. If it was to be sold, all profit made from its sale must be allocated to a designated charity or community organisation, as stipulated by the government regulations for CICs.
OAK’s governance structure comprises a Board of Directors, a Financial Advisory Committee and a Steering Committee.
Ownership of The Oxford Arms achieved in April 2023
By Spring 2023, thanks to a grant from the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund scheme and loans from St Mary’s Church Kington and a private individual, OAK had secured enough funding to be able to finally purchase The Oxford Arms from its owners, Fred and Sadie Hawkins.
Why has The Oxford Arms main building been closed since OAK bought it?
Before buying, we carried out in-depth specialist surveys, preliminary re-design work, and deeper community consultation to validate our plans. This vital pre-purchase work was paid for with support from the Architectural Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund. The final survey results showed that the building was structurally generally sound but not compliant with the most recent fire or electrical safety regulations. This meant that we would need to undertake major works before opening it to the public. To pay for this essential work we would need to raise more funds… considerably more.
In the meantime… The Oxford as a pop-up community hub with a café and bar
Whilst we fundraise to bring the building back into public use, we are utilising The Oxford’s outdoor spaces and detached barn. We have established an interim community hub with a volunteer-run pop-up bar and café. Since June 2023, we have held over 200 free public events and activities and generated a footfall of more than 8,000. In 2024 alone, we clocked up over 10,500 hours of volunteer time. We have been able to recruit a part-time paid Community Engagement Coordinator, Kim Greig. The Oxford has become a part of the Places of Welcome network, making Kington one of Herefordshire’s few designations in this national programme combatting social isolation and loneliness.
Update - April 2026
With a ‘development’ grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded in January 2025 we have been working with a team of heritage architects and engineers to learn all that we can about the building so as to design the most appropriate scheme of works to repair, renovate and conserve The Oxford. As a Grade-II listed building, there are strict regulations to abide by and any proposed changes need to be approved by the Listed Buildings officer in Herefordshire Council. This all takes time as well as money, but we are happy to report that we are making good progress thanks to a great team of specialists, and incredible donor-support. We also now know for sure that The Oxford was originally a timber-framed building and, excitingly, this structure still exists - entombed within the layers of later building fabric!
So far, to enable us to pay for the capital work needed, we have secured grants from:
Herefordshire Council Community Spaces grant £250,000
The Clothworkers Foundation £150,000
If all goes according to plan, by the end of 2026 we will have applied to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a ‘delivery’ grant, as well as several other funders, to help meet the remaining funding gap.
Once all the required funds are secured the work can begin! Watch this space!