This is the story of The Rising Sun, an award-winning pub that has become a vital hub for the community of Woodcroft, Gloucestershire.
When the village faced the closure of its only facility, the community fought to save it. With support from Plunkett UK, the community reopened their cherished pub in October 2022. Since then, the pub has gone far beyond its traditional role, offering services and activities that bring people together and strengthen local life.
The transformation was recognised at our annual Rural Community Business Awards when The Rising Sun received the Connecting the Community Award, sponsored by Utility Aid.
In 2023, CAMRA honoured the pub with its Pub Saving Award, adding to a growing collection of local accolades. Visitors agree too; the pub proudly holds an “excellent” rating on Tripadvisor.
On stage at the Rural Community Business Awards
Volunteers at 4Cs!
The Heart of the community
At the heart of its community work is the 4Cs group – Company, Chat, Cake, and Coffee. Meeting on the last Thursday of each month, the group began as a way to tackle social isolation. Today, it attracts 40–50 attendees and has even reunited friends who hadn’t spoken in 50 years!
While 4Cs is popular among older residents, The Rising Sun offers something for everyone: book clubs, motorcycle groups, darts teams, and more. Its weekly pub quiz has raised over £5,000 for small local charities, proving that social impact is central to everything the pub does.
All in all, the pub has become an essential community hub – it is a place that brings real value to local people and the volunteers who support it. It now serves as an Information First Aid point and will soon offer community CPR training. A dedicated community room is available, providing space for home working or meetings, and is offered free of charge for not for profit use. Strong links have also been built with the local primary school, whose children delighted everyone by singing at the Christmas 4Cs coffee morning.
Looking ahead
All of these initiatives complement the pub’s food and drink offering, and the impact is clear: footfall has risen by 20% over the past year, securing the business and reinforcing its role at the heart of the community.
The committee isn’t resting on its laurels; recent grants have funded a more accessible entrance and acoustic panelling to improve comfort for those sensitive to noise. Looking ahead, the pub aims to become dementia-friendly, with staff and volunteers undertaking awareness training. Plans for a dementia café and more daytime groups show that the future is bright.
The Rising Sun is a shining example of what community ownership can achieve. It embodies every impact area highlighted in our 2025 Impact Report, demonstrating how local people can create lasting change.
A role model of community ownership
As Robbie Moore MP said at the launch of our Community Ownership: A Better Form of Business report launch:
“Community ownership is a model that has made the impossible possible for many rural areas and kept services available that would otherwise have dried up.”
The Rising Sun certainly exemplifies this – it is changing lives, building connections, and leaving a legacy that will endure for generations. Long may it continue!
Representatives from the pub react to their award win…
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