THE landlord of the Somerset Arms in Semington has announced plans to transform the popular pub into a ‘community hub’.
Alongside the usual mix of food, drinks and live music, landlord John Adams is introducing new services and initiatives to encourage villagers to use the pub as a place to share news about the community and to meet new people.
Some of the changes include becoming a meeting place for local groups and committees; a new ‘village pantry’ that offers the community a place to go if they are short on any essential food items; becoming a drop-off point for any parcel deliveries; special events to reach lonely and isolated people in the village; and charity events throughout the year to encourage the community to come together.
John told Melksham News, “I am a firm believer that a village pub should be at the heart of the community. I want the Somerset Arms to do as much as possible for the village.
“Semington is a reasonably-sized village and sometimes people aren’t able to get involved in the community like they want to. So by creating a community hub, the pub becomes a place for people to talk about the village and what is going on and a place for people to get to know others in the area and meet new people.
“One thing we are planning to do to help reach the more lonely and isolated in the community is host special days for older people in the village – anyone living on their own. They will be events where they can meet others – a social outing for them.
“We also planning a number of events to bring everyone in the village together. We already have a village quiz every month to raise money for our neighbours, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. And for May we are planning a soapbox derby event, again, raising money for the air ambulance. As I am on the committee that organisers the annual local run, the Semington Slog, the pub will of course be supporting this event in May.
“I’d also like to see more groups meeting here at the pub. We already have local organisations like the school PTA group, the Semington Women’s Institute, and the Semington Slog committee, that meet here. The local football team also come in to socialise and we sometimes put food on for them.
“I was also surprised at how many local business people work from home here in the village – so I am trying to encourage them to use the pub for business meetings or to visit the pub for their morning coffee.”
The Somerset Arms also now offers new services. John explained, “We are taking in parcels – so if someone is out for the day they can have their parcels delivered to the pub and we will keep it safe for them until they are ready to collect it.
“We now also have a village pantry, selling essential items like bread and milk, so if anyone runs out or has forgotten something in their shop, they can nip down the road to the pub to grab something, rather than travel outside the village. We also sell fresh free range eggs from a local supplier, which people can pay for via the ‘honesty box’.”
