Our Community Benefits Society seeks to bring people together by restoring and reopening the cherished Gatehouse Pub as a community-owned pub, celebrating the vibrant culture on the pub’s doorstep. Located in the NR5 area, it will serve as a vital link to the nearby Sweet Briar Marshes Nature Reserve and the River Wensum, enriching the local landscape and offering opportunities for recreation, cultural events, and social support for residents across generations

This initiative is spearheaded by a diverse steering group comprising local leaders and community members, working alongside partners at the Marlpit Community Centre and Norfolk Wildlife Trust. As a registered Community Benefit Society, we’ve involved residents from the outset through consultations, surveys, and community events, ensuring that local voices shape the future of the Gatehouse.

The ‘Save the Gatehouse’ project will address pressing needs in the area: reviving a historic site, creating an accessible gathering place, and providing essential services for a community facing significant social and economic challenges. NR5, one of Norfolk’s most deprived postcodes, will benefit greatly from this revitalised pub, which will promote local pride, environmental stewardship, and improved well-being.

Situated on Dereham Road, the Gatehouse offers a unique riverbank garden with the potential to create direct access to the Sweet Briar Marshes, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This location connects residents with a rich natural landscape and provides a gateway to local wildlife and environmental education, enhancing Norwich’s urban green corridor.

Our intention is that The Pub’s purchase and renovation will be funded through a Community Share Offer, inviting community members to invest directly. The funds raised will support purchasing the property, essential renovations, and the phased development of facilities, including a professional community kitchen and a proposed bridge to Sweet Briar Marshes in partnership with Norfolk Wildlife Trust. This share offer is structured for broad community ownership, offering an accessible minimum investment with social and potential modest financial returns.

In ongoing negotiations with the current owner, we will need to raise in excess of £500,000 to acquire and renovate The Gatehouse. We are looking into financial arrangements with The Architectural Fund to acquire an additional £100,000.

A pledge is a promise. We are not asking for money at this stage. Over 120 community pubs have opened, all of them have succeeded.The Gatehouse will be a busy, bustling, commercially viable pub, restaurant and community hub, the demand and support for it is huge.

Upon the acceptance of an offer from the current owner, we will then ask you to convert your pledge into money in return for shares in The Gatehouse.

Yes it will, but the Gatehouse needs to trade for 3 years to give it time to get established, which is what we all want. After all, it’s our pub. Our business plan, supported by leading UK experts in financial projections demonstrates that the pub will be profitable.

Simply fill out our pledge form. It’s quick and confidential. There is no legal commitment on your part.