Community Secures Funding for Landmark Pub Acquisition

A prominent pub in Argyll is slated for community ownership following campaigners’ receipt of a £147,411 grant from the Scottish Land Fund. The Oakbank Inn, a 150-year-old establishment that has been closed for two years, is situated on the banks of Holy Loch, approximately three miles north of Dunoon. Sue Mckillop, one of the individuals who spearheaded the 18-month initiative to purchase the pub, stated that the award from the SLF—a Scottish government program that finances community buyouts—was “great news.” This grant is expected to cover the majority of the pub’s purchase price, with the group planning to sell shares to finance renovation costs. Ms. Mckillop informed the BBC that the previous owner ceased operations in 2022 after the pandemic led to a reduction in patronage. She recounted a humorous conversation with her husband about buying the pub, initially dismissing the idea due to her age before ultimately deciding ‘why not?’. Ms. Mckillop and the group expressed being “delighted” to have been awarded 95% of their requested amount from the Scottish Land Fund to enable the purchase. Ms. Mckillop has a history of successful fundraising, having previously founded another group called the Scenic Sandbank. This group secured funding in 2023 to convert a plot of land, located directly across from the Oakbank Inn, into a community garden. She hopes this garden will contribute to supplying locally-grown produce to the inn once it is operational. The grant awarded to the Oakbank Inn was one of ten such grants distributed across the country, collectively amounting to nearly £2 million. These include almost £600,000 allocated to a community group established by dog walkers in the Borders for the acquisition of a 56-hectare (140-acre) forest. Ms. Mckillop commented: “It’s not really about whose application is better but which area needs it most. In this current financial climate we are very fortunate to have been successful in being awarded this amount.” The Oakbank Inn has been a fixture on Sandbank’s main street for 150 years. The small town was historically renowned for its boatyard, which manufactured racing yachts at the turn of the 20th Century. In the 1960s, the area became a base for the US Navy, with its ships docking at the Ardnadam Pier on Holy Loch. For many years, Holy Loch hosted an average of 3,500-4,000 American personnel, a presence that concluded by the 1990s. Ms. Mckillop remarked: “You wouldn’t know they had been here now. There were submarines and boats on the loch, that all went away. And the only thing that’s really left is the original Ardnadam Pier and the Oakbank pub.” She added that the Sandbank community is looking forward to the return of its pub. “We just want people to have somewhere that they can feel at home, have a bit of fun and hopefully get fed too,” she stated. Sue affirmed: “The Oakbank Inn is more than a pub, it’s a community hub.” The group intends to undertake a full renovation, with plans to reopen in 2025 as the Oakbank Community Inn Sandbank.