Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert visited The Black Horse pub in Amberley to see how the landlords have restored the pub and restaurant to ‘give the village its heart back’.

Mr Herbert met landlords Johnnie and Emma Kennedy and took a tour of the extensively refurbished former pub. The Black Horse is due to open 11 new guest rooms, providing accommodation for visitors to the South Downs.

The pub was saved from becoming derelict by a residents’ group, The Black Horse Action Group, following its closure in 2012. Amberley residents felt strongly that the village needed to retain a pub so they worked together to make it a community asset.

Johnnie and Emma purchased it in 2016. They previously owned the Vintage Rose Café in Storrington and The Welldiggers Arms in Petworth. Their new venture has delivered a restaurant with open kitchen, a garden room café and terrace, private dining and a bar.

The Black Horse’s head chef has created a menu which offers seasonal and local produce.

Mr Herbert said: “I was delighted to meet Johnnie and Emma and to see how they have transformed The Black Horse which has sat empty for so long. I can understand why the local community campaigned to save pub and why they are so proud of this community asset.

“Village pubs are important for the local economy, providing jobs, supporting local food producers and drawing in visitors to the South Downs. There is much that the Government can do help sustain our Great British pubs, such as freezing beer duty and reducing business rates and I will continue support these initiatives in Parliament.”

ENDS

Notes

1. Photograph 1: Left to right – Johnnie and Emma Kennedy, Nick Herbert, Johnny Robinson, general manager.

2. To read more about The Black Horse see www.amberleyblackhorse.co.uk.

3. February 1 2019, The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that alcohol duties are frozen for another year. To read the Treasury announcement see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/treasury-backs-british-brewers-with-duty-freeze.

· taxes on beer, cider and spirits are frozen for another year, keeping costs down for industry and consumers alike

· alcohol duty cuts and freezes over the last six years have provided £4.4 billion of support to pubs and drinks industry

· a typical pint of beer is 14 pence cheaper than if taxes had risen in line with inflation

MP visits The Black Horse in Amberley