“After years of uncertainty this is a good step forward for local residents and the area,” summarised Gloucester MP Richard Graham after the decision from the Trust Inns’ board yesterday to refurbish and re-open the Ridge and Furrow Pub in Abbeydale.
Richard said, “residents had different views of what future they preferred for the Ridge & Furrow, but all were agreed that a boarded up and vandalised ex-pub was an eyesore that sent completely the wrong message about Abbeydale, a flourishing community. So I’m delighted that Trust Inns have made the decision to invest in the pub. It gives residents more socialising options and uses the site for the purpose it was built for only a generation ago. This is another step forward for regeneration in Gloucester and I’m delighted Trust Inns sees the potential here.”
Richard and local councillor Andrew Gravells have been in touch with both Trust Inns and Morrisons continually over the last few years, and played a key part in the City Council rejection of Morrisons’ plans for a petrol station after Richard’s survey revealed widespread local opposition to the idea.
