A PUB resurrected by the community has been officially opened following a special ceremony.

The Kings Head pub in Pebmarsh is serving customers again after members of the community, combined with grants from Essex County Council, raised the £350,000 needed to reopen it following a year-long closure.

During the official opening party at the weekend more than 100 of the 350 community shareholders joined members of the Pebmarsh Community Pub team, new tenants Stuart and Debbie Fraser, and county council leader David Finch at a ribbon cutting ceremony. to celebrate.

Fresh and homemade food was served throughout the afternoon before four-piece band Blueprint played live music in the evening. One brave shareholder, Susie Daws, also took part in a charity head shave which helped raise more than £850.

Peter Hele, a key member of the Pebmarsh Community Pub Ltd team, said: “It was a huge relief when we got to the soft opening last month. There were quite a few emotional moments on Saturday.

“There’s only six of us in our little team and and we have all worked very hard to get the pub where it is now.

“Now we can step back and allow Stuart and Debbie to run their business. The business is really growing, they’re recruiting staff and gearing up for the busy Christmas period.

"But we must not take our eye off the ball that it is a community pub. We must make sure people continue supporting it and stay engaged.”

The hope is the pub upholds the best traditions of a watering hole and is as much a place for friends and the community to gather and support each other as a place to pop in for a pie and a pint.

With the Kings Head pub’s future now seemingly secure, tenants Stuart and Debbie are planning for the future.

In the first week they served food, more than 400 meals were cooked and sold to customers, and Stuart hopes the successful start will continue in the long term.

He said: “We are just concentrating on the business side of things. There has been loads of support from the community, people have helped out where they can.

“There’s no real pressure on us other than to serve good pub and beers. We are still in the honeymoon period but I see no reason for it to slow up anytime soon.

"We have other plans in place to keep people coming into the pub like coffee mornings and setting up a village shop but for now we have to try and survive Christmas.”