Waverley has added the Sun Inn on Dunsfold Common to its list of assets of community value. The owners say there is no plan to close it or change its use.

The Sun Inn, the pub on The Common in Dunsfold, has been added to Waverley Borough Council’s list of assets of community value.

Dunsfold is a village about five miles south-east of Godalming. The council’s joint director of legal services decided on 27 October that the pub met the legal test, and the decision was published on 5 November.

Why the pub qualified

Under the Localism Act 2011, a building can be listed if its main use furthers the “social wellbeing or social interests of the local community”, and that use is realistic to continue.

The council found both tests met:

  • Current use: the uses set out in the nomination “provide strong reasoning to conclude that a variety of social benefits” come from the uses, events and activities “that do clearly occur at The Sun Inn”.
  • Future use: “The Owners confirm there is presently no proposal to close or change the use”, and no evidence was put forward that the pub’s community use will not continue.

The decision does not say who made the nomination. Community nominations usually come from a parish council or a local group.

What listing does

Listing does not stop the owners running or selling the pub. What it adds is a pause if a sale comes up.

Under the Localism Act 2011, the owners must tell the council if they want to sell. A community group then has six weeks to ask to be treated as a bidder. If one does, the sale is paused for six months from the owners’ notice, giving the group time to raise money. The owners do not have to accept the community’s offer.

A listing lasts five years.

What it means for you

  • If you drink at the Sun Inn, nothing changes. The owners have told the council there is no plan to close it.
  • If the pub is ever put up for sale, the village gets a chance to bid before it goes to someone else.
  • Other community buildings can be nominated the same way. Waverley’s list of assets of community value is published by the council, and nominations come from parish councils and community groups.