BERNARD Jenkin MP will cut the ribbon when a village pub and its 138 landlords stage a grand reopening.

The Maybush Inn, in Farm Road, Great Oakley was saved from closure by a group of determined residents, who clubbed together to raise the cash to buy the pub.

It had closed in April last year and there were fears it would be turned into a home or demolished.

It was listed as a community asset by Tendring Council, paving the way for a committed group to buy the property.

The Great Oakley Community Hub was formed, managing to raise £86,110 to qualify for a mortgage, and the keys to the pub were handed over in February.

The pub has been getting off the ground since then, with Mark Godfrey, chairman of the hub, left staggered at the efforts of volunteers.

He said: “There are 138 members and every member is therefore a landlord with a share in the pub.

“We were just about to fall short of the target and when people realised it was going to happen we had a surge of money which pushed us over the line.

“The pub has been reopened and it is run completely voluntarily.

“The bar is manned by around 20 of us, we have people volunteering to do the cleaning, looking after the cellar, painting – everything really.

“This has really built the village back into a community.”

While the pub started out selling cans and bottles of beers and ales, the group has now secured business with Charles Wells Brewery and Harwich Town Brewery Company.

Mr Godfrey said: “We expected to use 80 barrels a year – we have already gone through 10 in six weeks.

“We are over track if anything, the volume of beer we are moving has been well over all our expectations.

“The money we make goes towards the mortgage, the running costs and, of course, the beer.”

The Great Oakley Community Hub will officially open the pub on Saturday, May 7, with Mr Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North Essex, cutting the ribbon and a party is set to be thrown.