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The past few months have been very eventful indeed and involved a lot of work for the whole Committee.  Andrew Howells provided excellent leadership to the Committee, navigating us through difficult lease negotiations, Tony’s departure and the recruitment of a new tenant.  I would like to thank him for this and am pleased that he remains part of the Committee.

On behalf of the Committee I would also like to thank Mary James, who has resigned as Secretary.  Mary has been with the Committee since its inception and her contribution to the running of TCP has been significant.  She will be missed but we wish her all the best.

I am pleased to announce that we have a new Committee member in Gill Page.  Gill, who is the Finance Director of a local manufacturing business, brings along significant business and finance experience and will be a great addition to the Committee.

Andrew Howells and I met with Brian last week to discuss moving forward after what has been an eventful first 3 months.  It was agreed that I, and another Committee member, would meet with Brian and Lainey on a regular basis to ensure that TCP as Landlords and Brian and Lainey as Tenants are clear on our expectations and obligations to each other, our shareholders, customers and the wider community.  After my first meeting I feel confident that there is a good relationship between us that allows for honest and open dialogue and that things are looking positive for the future.

Brian was able to confirm that food will now be served on the following days:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

They also confirmed the opening hours as follows:

Monday through to Thursday 5 to 11

Friday 3 to 12

Saturday and Sunday 12 to 11.

Brian hopes to publish some up-coming events and the Christmas menu very soon.

We are hoping to get a volunteer group together to provide a face lift to the dining room whilst we make plans for more significant works to this area.  Please contact Steve Preston or Mick Francis if you would like to volunteer your services!

Work on the barns should start soon.  Following a competitive tender process the contract to renovate the barns with grant funding has been awarded to B K Sargeant.

Did you know that approximately 15 village pubs have closed within a 5 mile radius of Toppesfield over the last 20 years!  So come on people, support your local, we are very lucky to have one!

Best wishes

Mary-Ann Stevenson

As far as development of the building goes, the kitchen is refurbished and full of shiny hygienic stainless steel, the cellar has been deep-cleaned and painted and new chillers installed, and the living accommodation had a good clean and tidy.  The next work will be on the barns where there are structural issues that need to be solved, we have grant funding for this.  Working down the priority list there will be development to the rear of the pub to extend the ‘restaurant/meeting room’, provide disabled access to refurbished toilets, and a variety of other works.

No we have a new kitchen food is being served in the pub, starting with Sunday lunches and then building up a wider range.  So far the Sunday roasts have been popular, why not pop in and book yourself a table soon.

This was one of the main requests from all of the surveys over that last few years, good honest food in a warm clean environment, it’s available and awaiting your custom!  A credit card machine is being re-installed to support this venture.

Following my request for some new committee members I am pleased to say there were several so we are able to add new skills and ideas and drive progress to the next level, soon we’ll start the process of change there. At the start of this year I informed the committee that there was a good chance I would be working away more at some point and therefore unable to give the time to continue as Chair, but was very keen to remain a member of the group.

Time catches up with us in the end despite my efforts to avoid work! Mary-Ann Stevenson will now take over the role as Chair until around the AGM having been heavily involved in the funding and planning work; I hope she will continue in the role after the AGM, however we have a smooth planned transition now and have plenty of time to arrange anything else that may be needed before the AGM.

I would like to that everyone for their support while I was Chair, and am going to give as much time as I can to the on going operations of TCP as do the other members.

The good news is that you can enjoy quality well-priced food at the Green Man, drop in and reserve yourselves a table soon, we look forward to seeing you there.

Regards

Andrew Howells

As promised (albeit a bit slower than hoped whilst waiting for further delays in grant money) we are starting imminently to refit the kitchen.  We have funds to do so and will embark on the development according to the priorities established.

We have some grant funding and are awaiting the outcome of further applications.

What we really need now is to bring some wider skills onto the committee to move ahead with the next phase.  The first incarnation of the committee edstablished supportr and funds, and purchased the pub, the second have exchanged tenants, defined the project, and grown the cash balance, we now need to import some extra skills to help guide the redevelopment project.  Each stage needs some specific skills to be added, and now we need those who can add tot he vision and manage the project.

Please let me know if you can spare a bit of time to see the project through.  We have a willing tenant, a successful trading business,and cash to work with.A lot of hard work is done and we need to capitalize on it.

I am pleased to let you know that we have now awarded the tenancy to a couple, each of whom has extensive experience, having 25 years in the trade as personal license holders running several pubs.  This process has been necessarily conducted mainly behind closed doors as it involves people’s lives and personal ambitions, and of course includes the delicate discussions with Tony regarding his departure.

Brian and Elaine (known as Lainey) McCombe will be taking on the tenancy from 17^th August and the committee will be working with them to help make the Green Man the sort of community focused pub you have told us you want.  They plan on opening as usual on 17^th August in the evening, and won’t be serving food for a week or so until they have deep-cleaned and re-organised the kitchen.

Currently living in the West Midlands, Brian and Lainey have family in the Halstead area and are very excited at the prospect of moving back to the area.  They are also very keen to have an active engagement with and involvement in the community.  Where Elaine’s experience mainly is within the direct pub trade, both food and drink, Brian’s earlier career found him in IT management within the marketing and entertainment industries in the Middle East, mainly Saudi Arabia, Dubai and surrounding countries. They have a passion for good food and providing a comfortable and welcoming experience for all.

I am sure that you will join me in welcoming Brian and Lainey to Toppesfield.

At the same time we would like to record our thanks to Tony and wish him well when he moves on to his new role in London.

Following a welcome and an expression of thanks from Alan Collard for those that made this project a reality it was over to Richard Anscome of the ‘Plunkett Foundation’ to formally open the PumpHouse Brewery.

Amoung Richards many kind words was a comment that Toppesfield should be proud of, so to para phrase.

“The Plunkett Foundation regularly holds up Toppesfield as a flagship of what a determined community can achieve”

Following a blessing by our Rev: Barbara Hume the official opening was completed.

Despite! great reluctance from the assembled throng, they felt obligated to stay on and sample some of the PumpHouse’s products.

Which were:

Pumphouse Bitter/Toppesfield Tap. 3.6% ABV

Easy-drinking session ale brewed from English Maris Otter malted barley. Amber in colour, it has a clean maltiness and moderate bitterness that is balanced with a distinctive hoppy aroma from a combination of UK-grown Pilgrim and Pioneer hops.

Toppesfield tap is available on draught only from the Green Man in Toppesfield, our brewery tap.

Pumphouse Gold. 4.2% ABV

Pumphouse Gold is brewed from English Maris Otter pale malt blended with lightly kilned Munich malt from Germany.

It has a deep golden colour with a biscuit-like maltiness offset by the rounded citrus/lychee aromas and lingering bitter finish that result from a generous helping of UK-grown Cascade hops.

Pumphouse Black. 4.0% ABV

Smooth and smoky, black and toasty, with a subtle but distinct bitterness, the complex flavours that derive from the combination of roasted barley with chocolate malt form the backbone of this stout.

Surprisingly easy to drink.

“Black is the new blonde for winter!”

19 Elms. 4.3% ABV

This dark amber ale has been brewed especially to mark the planting of 19 elm trees in Toppesfield in memory of the 19 young men of the village who gave their lives during the First World War.

19 Elms is a strong, robust ale brewed from the finest English ingredients.

It will be available as a limited-edition bottled ale and exclusively on draught:

in the Green Man on the weekend of Remembrance Sunday 2015.

Beer descriptions courtesy of: PumpHouse Community Brewery

PumpHouse Community Brewery:

by Alan Collard

The setting up of the new craft brewery destined for the Green Man barn is now well under way.

All the funding has been committed, including grants from the Braintree Mi community Fund, the Yellow Car Trust and the Alan & Babette Sainsbury Charitable Trust and proceeds from a successful community share issue.

The share issue was supported by 73 people from the parish and well beyond.

Over the next few weeks you will see work continuing on transforming the cart lodge at the pub into an attractive and fully functioning craft brewery. We hope to start trial brewing by the end of June and have a formal ‘launch’ of Pumphouse Community Brewery during September.

In the meantime, we are very keen to hear from everyone who would be interested in getting involved in the brewery operations when they start. This would be on a volunteer basis and would involve every aspect of the process from working with the brewer through to cleaning barrels, bottling beers, cleaning the brewery, helping with deliveries and much more.

We wish to build up a body of volunteers so we can arrange a proper schedule; space will be at a premium in the brewery and we can’t have everyone milling around at the same time!

We are also working on providing the required basic H&S training for everyone involved. This will be important for both legal and insurance purposes. This promises to be an interesting and exciting venture and a unique opportunity.

If you would like to get involved please let any of the committee members know or send us a message.

www.pumphousecommunitybrewery.com/

You will recall we purchased the pub primarily from shareholder funds and borrowings, not from large grants. As a village we own the building and beer tie, and do not operate the pub business itself or are allowed much say into its running; given a good relationship with the tenant we do of course meet regularly to urge improvements and developments that would aid both parties.

We are on track with the original business plan both in top line, operating profit, and investments, however have seen the first few months of 2015 being challenging. Low footfall in the pub reduces the volume of drinks sold and therefore our beer-tie income, so this year needs an injection in activity to ensure we stay on target.

We can assist the tenant with planning, arranging activities, and sweat capital, however what he really needs is the support of the village in attending activities and dropping in for food and drink more often.

The building itself is somewhat aging and is inefficient in insulation, water, and behind-the-scenes space. The quantity of electricity and heating oil it consumes is out of kilter with its size and an unfair burden on any tenant. Water consumption is high due to old-fashioned plumbing and flushing systems, and kitchen space is limited. The building did not deteriorate, partly due to volunteer labour ably organised by Paul Thompson, however it is a drain financially.

As a committee our time is currently split into 3 activities.

Firstly the on-going monitoring of the building and activities for governance purposes, ensuring we operate within our mortgage, insurance, and community commitment requirements.

Secondly we are actively pursuing grant funding to develop the building according to the village plan; improving insulation, heating, and cooking facilities is paramount. Anything from a redecoration to full rebuild is planned, depending on the size of funding available. We have produced (with James Blackie at the helm of this exercise) a set of drawings for planning permission purposes (which has been granted), the final design to be decided when the size of funding is known. It is likely we will need to generate further funds ourselves to meet the granting bodies guidelines, we don’t see this as an obstacle.

The third activity is in securing the next lease with a suitable structure, term, and income for the village. The current lease expires towards the end of the year and we are in productive discussions.

Our AGM is on 30th May when shareholders are invited to receive further information on progress. We are intending to rent part of the barn area to the Pumphouse Brewery, whether that be through or aside of the existing lease agreement, our tenant is in agreement with either proposal; a level of symbiosis will naturally exist between the two ventures although they are clearly separate bodies in every other way.

The strongest message we can deliver is that the pub needs the continuing support of the village, and if anyone has drifted away from a regular visit please make a point of reinstating it in your social calendar, any of us in the village who didn’t venture in yet should give it a try – your pub supports both community spirit and the value of your property!