ABOUT
Ickleton Community Pub Limited
Invest in our future
We have an opportunity to reopen The Ickleton Lion as an asset for the whole community.
Community ownership
By buying The Ickleton Lion, we will safeguard the pub, protecting it from potential redevelopment in the future – and bring it back into use for the community.
We have undertaken market research and consulted with the community and professionals to best assess how the pub and hub should operate. We will not run the business ourselves, as we believe that it would be far better for us to employ an established restaurateur or publican to manage the pub on a day to day basis.
A Management Committee elected from the members, by the members, will work with the professional manager(s) to offer support where needed, and to develop new services in consultation with the community. Volunteers may be involved in running some of these.
Strengthen our community
Reopening The Lion will enhance the social and cultural life of our village. Good quality, affordable food and drink, locally sourced where possible, will be central to the Lion’s offering. The pub will once again host social gatherings, family celebrations and small events, such as quizzes and games nights.
However, it would be far more than a pub or restaurant. We will be welcoming home-from-home; an accessible and family-friendly hub for us all to enjoy. And as a member, you will be able to have a say in how any profits are reinvested back into the community.
Provide new facilities
We will provide space for local groups to meet and for people to forge new friendships. We know there’s a huge demand for good coffee and for somewhere to work, so we’ll encourage co-working in the restaurant space during the daytime, as well as other opportunities for people to gather - such as craft groups, a lunch club, a children’s breakfast club and more.
We hope we can support the community in living more sustainably by providing a repair cafe, as well as being mindful of our own carbon footprint in the way that the pub is operated. With plenty going on to suit lots of different age groups and interests, we believe The Lion will quickly become a hive of activity within the community.
Support the local economy
We believe The Lion should complement rather than compete with other facilities and services in the village. Reopening the pub will provide job opportunities in both the kitchen and front of house, as well as volunteer roles for those who want to connect with other people, gain valuable work experience or develop new skills.
There is also the potential to offer training to young people - a way to gain basic qualifications and experience in catering and hospitality, to help prepare trainees to access work at other hospitality businesses in the area.
Using local food and drink suppliers and local tradesmen wherever we can will help others grow their businesses too.
The Lion will be a friendly local where villagers can meet old friends and make new ones at any time of day. Somewhere to get a reliably good pint or a decent meal without the need or expense of traveling elsewhere.
THE TEAM
Meet the team of passionate individuals who are driving the efforts to buy and run The Ickleton Lion as a community pub
Rachel Radford
Chair
Rachel is a retired senior civil servant. She represented the UK on International committees at the OECD, and project managed the Budget and Finance Bill process in HMRC, through from the production of documents and draft legislation, support for Minsters in debates, to delivering operational changes.
She is Chair of the Ickleton Society, the village amenity society, which works to preserve and protect our village environment, amassing a huge archive about village history for future generations.
She has lived in Ickleton for over 20 years. She feels passionately that a pub is an essential part of village life and, without it, life in the village would be diminished.
Katherine Denman-Johnson Secretary
Katherine has lived in Ickleton for 23 years and brought up her children in the village. She has been involved in organising and raising money for a range of successful community and charity projects for over 30 years. She believes that a village pub is an essential part of community life, not just for the villagers of Ickleton, but also the wider community.
Katherine started her working life as a biochemist, then ran a business from home whilst her children were small and is now employed to advise the Family Courts.
Graham Fagg
Graham has lived in South Cambridgeshire for more than 25 years – in Hinxton and in Ickleton – following some 20 years in Switzerland and the USA, as part of a career in the biomedical science industries. Prior to retirement, he was a partner in a venture capital firm investing internationally in the biotechnology sector.
He has been Chair and a member of Hinxton Parish Council, is an avid supporter of local businesses and organisations, and is an enthusiastic proponent of community ownership of the Ickleton Lion, making it a vibrant community hub.
Simon Cheney
Vice Chair
Simon moved to Ickleton in 2004. After 20 years in IT and Telecoms businesses as a Programme Director, he left to open the eatery Bread & Meat in central Cambridge in 2014 with his wife Michelle.
The business continues to thrive and is very much part of the Cambridge independent food scene.
Simon is passionate about the British pub culture.
Eric Burrows
Eric held leadership positions around the world in International Marketing. This was followed by Board and Partner roles in management consulting in Strategy, Marketing and Change Management. He was a pioneer in Change methodology. He has been a charity trustee, director of a Think Tank, and Organisational Development head of Europe’s largest engineering project.
Ickleton has lost its Lion and we have the opportunity to put it back at the centre of our Village.
Lizzie Molloy
Lizzie studied music and her working life was spent in music education. Working
with children, from diverse backgrounds, in a wide variety of educational settings
over many years emphasised, for her, the importance of 'community’ and
‘belonging’ to a person’s well-being.
Jonathan Ward
Treasurer
Jonathan moved to the village in 2017 and was a regular in the Ickleton Lion prior to its closure. As treasurer of the Village cricket club and as assistant scout leader with the local cub pack. He is a keen supporter of community-based activities, fully understanding the benefits to wellbeing through social cohesion and engagement.
As one of three directors that run a local Chartered Accountancy practice, Jonathan’s experience in providing accountancy services to local businesses will be put to good use in advising the group on taxation, accounting and general business matters. He is excited by the prospect of bring the pub back into use as a thriving hub of the village, with the CBS business being able to sustain this key community asset for generations to come.
Joanna Hancock
Jo spent the first ten years of her career in the food industry, developing new products for clients including M&S, Waitrose and Pret a Manger, before moving into the charitable sector, where her remit includes volunteer recruitment, fundraising and research and campaigns. She is a trustee of two local charities and over the last 20 years has been involved in fundraising for a variety of community projects, receiving a community achievement award in 2016.
She is passionate about building community cohesion and equitable access to services in rural locations, and is excited to be part of the Ickleton Lion team.
Lucy Davidson
Lucy had visited Ickleton since she was a child, and moved to the village 15 years ago. She was involved in fundraising for a new playground, and is currently a parish councillor. Her working background is Business Affairs in the advertising sector.