Owners of Great Ryburgh’s Blue Boar Inn plan to offer it to the village as it goes on sale for £650,000

A village pub is back on the market as its owners look to retire.

The Blue Boar Inn in Great Ryburgh, near Fakenham, has been put up for sale for the second time - £15,000 cheaper than previously listed.

Its owners, James and Laura Lee, say they feel “it’s the right time” for them to move on.

“We’ve put a lot into the pub over the years, and it’s been a huge part of our lives, but now feels like the natural moment to step back and pass it on,” Laura said.

The pair plan to offer the pub to the village as an asset of community value, but have appointed a new realtor from Paul Hubbard Estate Agents so that everything is in place if the community decide not to proceed.

Last year, many residents were left fearing that the building, which is the last pub in the village, would be sold to developers and turned into flats after a pre-application was submitted to North Norfolk District Council.

The request was opposed by more than 150 people, and a community survey saw 168 out of 180 say they wanted it to remain as a pub - prompting the creation of the steering group Ryburgh Community Hub.

At the time, Andrew Purdy, who had successfully managed a similar project with the village shop years before, said: “It is possible to do these community ventures, whether or not we will succeed this time, I don’t know, but I want a pub there and so do many others.”

Laura added that there is a “real hope that the community might still be part of the Blue Boar Inn’s next chapter”.

Ryburgh Community Hub has been approached for comment.