Brig Inn pub Brydekirk: Scottish community raises over £20k to save local pub in small village

Residents of a village in Dumfries and Galloway have raised over £20,000 in just four weeks to buy and restore an empty local pub.

Campaigners outside the Brig Inn pub | Brig Inn Pub & Hub

The community in Brydekirk, a village in Annandale, had already secured over £95, 000 from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to buy the vacant Brig Inn, but needed to launch a crowdfunder to help raise the rest of the funds.

The pub has been empty since 2020 and is currently owned by housing developers, who previously applied to change its use to residential.

In recent years the vacant pub has faced storm damage as well as the loss of utilities. It also has an unstable wall.

The SLF funding is set to expire in March, meaning the community needed to purchase the pub before then.

In an update on social media on Monday, the residents announced they had hit their target and a formal offer had been made.

The crowdfunder has now surpassed £21,000, with residents also hosting bingo nights, raffles and supermarket bag-packs to raise money.

Duncan MacMillan, treasurer of The Brig Inn and Hub, told BBC Scotland the project started with a “common dream” to restore the pub.

He said the pub would help to support other local businesses in area, including local brewers.

There are also plans to convert the flat in the upstairs part of the building into affordable accommodation.