Executive Summary

The Bulls Head is a historic public house in the heart of Mexborough, South Yorkshire. After years of decline and recent vandalism, the building currently sits empty and unusable. At the same time, Mexborough is entering a major new chapter, with approximately £24 million of public investment planned to regenerate the town centre and high street. (businessdoncaster.co.uk)

Our vision is to restore and reimagine The Bulls Head as a community wellbeing hub: a welcoming, affordable and inclusive space that retains the social spirit of the traditional pub, while evolving its purpose for modern community needs.

Rather than centring around alcohol, the space would focus on wellbeing, connection, creativity and support. Activities could include yoga, pilates, meditation, crafts, social eating, cinema clubs, family activities, workshops, social impact retail and space for local charities and support organisations.

The project is being led collaboratively by:

• Jote Prakash Singh, Founder of Earth Village CIC
• Justin Harris, Owner of The Bulls Head
• Joe Gardham, Founder of Social Vision

A unique aspect of this project is that the building owner has committed the property on a peppercorn 25-year lease, significantly reducing the largest barrier faced by most community regeneration projects: acquisition cost.

This creates a rare opportunity to:

• Restore an important heritage building
• Create an inclusive community destination
• Support the wider regeneration of Mexborough
• Pilot a replicable model for community-led pub transformation nationally

Our Vision

A New Type of Community Space

For generations, pubs acted as social anchors within towns and villages. They were places where people met neighbours, shared experiences, celebrated milestones and felt part of something bigger than themselves.

As social habits, economics and public health priorities change, many traditional pubs are struggling to survive. Since 2000, the UK has lost more than 16,000 pubs, representing over a third of the sector. (morningadvertiser.co.uk)

At the same time, demand for accessible wellbeing spaces, affordable activities and stronger community connection continues to grow.

The Bulls Head represents an opportunity to respond to both trends at once.

Our ambition is not to erase the identity of the pub, but to evolve it.

Crucially, this will not feel like a traditional community centre.

The space will be designed to feel modern, welcoming, creative and aspirational — somewhere people genuinely want to spend time. We believe design, atmosphere and experience matter deeply in shaping how people feel about themselves, their town and one another.

By creating a space that feels contemporary, high-quality and culturally relevant, we can increase engagement, accessibility and long-term pride in place across different demographics and communities.

We want to create a modern community venue that:

• Feels welcoming to all backgrounds and generations
• Supports physical and mental wellbeing
• Encourages creativity, participation and local pride
• Provides affordable and inclusive access
• Helps reconnect people to one another
• Supports local organisations and social impact initiatives

Why Mexborough?

Mexborough is already entering a significant period of transformation.

Public investment through Levelling Up Funding and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement is bringing approximately £24 million into the town centre to improve public realm, connectivity, shopfronts and infrastructure. (businessdoncaster.co.uk)

The Bulls Head currently sits as one of the most visibly neglected buildings on what will soon become an improved and revitalised high street.

We believe the building can become:

• A visible symbol of positive change
• A bridge between heritage and future regeneration
• An anchor for social and community activity
• A catalyst for wider local pride and participation

Importantly, this is not a standalone project. It is designed to complement and strengthen the wider regeneration already taking place.

The Need

Changing Communities, Changing Needs

Across the UK, communities are experiencing:

• Increased isolation and loneliness
• Cost of living pressures affecting households and families
• Rising mental health pressures
• Reduced access to affordable activities
• Fewer inclusive social spaces
• Declining town centres and community infrastructure
• Loss of traditional gathering places

At the same time, younger generations are increasingly seeking alternatives to alcohol-led socialising and are placing greater value on health and wellbeing. Research shows that the number of 16–24 year olds who report not drinking alcohol has increased significantly over the past decade. (alcoholchange.org.uk)

There is also growing demand for:

• Mindfulness and wellbeing activities
• Community-led experiences
• Affordable family activities
• Creative participation
• Authentic local spaces
• Inclusive and non-judgemental environments

Proposed Feasibility Study

We recognise that long-term success depends on deep local engagement.

We are currently seeking support for a formal feasibility and consultation phase that would:

• Capture the views of local residents
• Engage community groups and stakeholders
• Identify gaps in existing provision
• Understand local priorities and barriers
• Test potential activities and uses
• Explore how local residents may wish to participate in shaping the project
• Understand whether there is appetite for local employment, volunteering or training opportunities
• Explore the potential for a community advisory, steering or governance group with local representation
• Build long-term community ownership of the project

What Will Happen Here?

The Bulls Head would become a flexible, multi-use community wellbeing venue.

Activities would evolve alongside community demand, but early ideas include:

Physical Wellbeing

• Yoga
• Pilates
• Breathwork
• Meditation
• Baby yoga
• Parent wellbeing sessions
• Low-impact fitness
• Dance and movement workshops

Family & Community Activities

• Cinema clubs
• After-school sessions
• Community meals
• Coffee mornings
• Intergenerational activities
• Baby and toddler sessions
• Seasonal events

Arts, Crafts & Creativity

• Makers workshops
• Craft classes
• Artist showcases
• Pop-up exhibitions
• Live music performances
• Poetry and spoken word events
• Affordable studio space
• Repair cafes
• Creative retail

Social Impact Support

• Charity drop-ins
• Counselling and wellbeing support
• Employability support
• Addiction support groups
• Community outreach services
• Warm space provision

Socially-conscious Retail

We are particularly interested in creating responsive, community-led retail and exchange models, like Social Vision’s Saturday Souk @ The Malthouse.

For example: If a local parent identifies a need for affordable baby clothing, the space could host community swap events, low-cost sales or donation initiatives that directly respond to local demand.

This creates a stronger sense of participation, ownership and collective responsibility.

Affordability & Access

Accessibility and affordability will sit at the heart of the model.

We aim to include:

• Pay-what-you-can sessions
• Free community events
• Pay-it-forward schemes
• Subsidised access where viable
• Low-cost room hire for community groups

Heritage & Storytelling

The Bulls Head is believed to be approximately 200 years old and operated as a public house for around 150 years.

The building forms part of the social memory of Mexborough and has served generations of residents.

We believe the history of the building should be actively celebrated within the project.

This could include:

• Historic photography exhibitions
• Oral history interviews
• Former landlord and patron stories
• Heritage interpretation panels
• Community memory projects
• Archive partnerships

The Building Today

The building is currently in extremely poor condition following years of decline and vandalism.

It is presently unsuitable for public use and requires significant assessment, repairs and refurbishment.

Early estimates suggest approximately £100,000 will be required to stabilise, repair and prepare the building for safe community use.

Community Impact

Social Impact

The project aims to contribute positively to several interconnected challenges:

• Isolation and loneliness
• Mental wellbeing
• Cost of living pressures
• Physical health
• Parenting support
• Access to affordable activities
• Employability and confidence
• Community resilience

Community Cohesion

One of the strongest ambitions of the project is to create genuine connection across communities.

Mexborough, like many towns across the UK, has experienced increasing social pressures in recent years, including concerns around anti-social behaviour and social fragmentation. While this project alone cannot directly solve these challenges, we believe welcoming, positive and well-used community spaces can play an important supporting role in rebuilding trust, participation and civic pride.

We also recognise the importance of ensuring all communities feel represented and welcome within shared spaces. This includes creating opportunities for connection across generations, ethnicities, cultures and faith groups.

We believe shared spaces matter.

The Bulls Head could help:

• Bring generations together
• Encourage stronger understanding across multi-ethnic and multi-faith communities
• Create positive shared experiences between different social groups
• Reduce social fragmentation
• Improve understanding between groups
• Build pride in place
• Create safer and more welcoming social environments

This is particularly important in communities where younger and older residents can sometimes feel disconnected from one another, and where different communities may not always have opportunities to meaningfully connect.

By creating welcoming, neutral and positive shared experiences, we hope the space can contribute to stronger community cohesion over time.

A shared, welcoming venue can help rebuild understanding, trust and belonging.

Wider Regeneration Impact

The project also has wider strategic potential.

Urban regeneration research often points to the connection between neglected environments and wider feelings of decline, disengagement and anti-social behaviour. Conversely, active and cared-for community spaces can help encourage greater civic pride, visibility, participation and positive use of shared public areas.

The restoration of The Bulls Head is therefore not only about saving a building, but about contributing to a wider sense of confidence, optimism and ownership within the town centre.

Alongside the physical regeneration of the high street, we believe projects like this can contribute to broader agendas around community wealth building, local participation and pride in place.

Where possible, we will seek to ensure that social, economic and cultural value generated through the project remains rooted locally — through local partnerships, local practitioners, local employment opportunities and community-led activity.

It could:

• Strengthen Mexborough’s regeneration story
• Increase high street activity and footfall
• Improve perceptions of the area
• Attract external partnerships and funding
• Create a model for replication elsewhere

What Makes This Different?

A Rare Opportunity

Most community-led regeneration projects struggle because of the upfront capital cost of acquiring buildings.

This project is uniquely positioned because the owner has committed the building on a long-term peppercorn lease and is actively involved in supporting the vision.

This significantly reduces barriers and allows more resources to be directed into:

• Restoration
• Community engagement
• Programming
• Accessibility
• Long-term sustainability

An Evolution of the Traditional Pub

Rather than removing the social value of the pub, this project seeks to evolve it.

The ambition is to create a modern, welcoming and inclusive version of the community gathering space.

A place where people feel:

• Safe
• Included
• Represented
• Heard
• Valued
• Proud to belong

Many people — particularly marginalised groups — often feel that traditional venues are “not for people like me”.

We want The Bulls Head to actively challenge that feeling.

Inspiration & Precedents

The project draws inspiration from successful examples of community-led placemaking and social enterprise.

While The Bulls Head represents a distinctive local vision, it also forms part of a growing international movement exploring how underused buildings and former hospitality venues can be reimagined as inclusive community spaces.

Across the UK and internationally, communities are increasingly transforming pubs, cafés and heritage buildings into wider social infrastructure that supports wellbeing, creativity, connection and local participation.

Examples include:

• Community-owned pubs in the UK expanding into arts, education and social support
• Alcohol-free social venues emerging in cities such as Washington DC
• Creative health and wellbeing hubs integrating arts and community support services
• Heritage buildings being repurposed as inclusive multi-use community spaces

These examples demonstrate growing recognition that social infrastructure — the spaces where people connect, participate and belong — plays an important role in community wellbeing, pride in place and regeneration.

A few examples include:

Spark:York, York

A nationally recognised example of meanwhile-use regeneration that combined independent businesses, social value and community participation. [link]

The Malthouse Project, York

An example of heritage-led creative and community space development. [link]

The Auctioneers Arms – Staffordshire

Community owned and run pub with entertainment, craft workshops and first aid lessons. [link]

Spark Social House, Washington D.C.

Alcohol-free bar, coffee shop and LGBTQ+ space [link]

Long-Term Vision

This project is about far more than one building.

Across the UK, traditional pubs continue to close at an alarming rate due to rising costs, changing behaviours and pressures on the hospitality sector. Industry bodies warned that Britain could lose the equivalent of one pub every day during 2025. (beerandpub.com)

Many of these buildings are converted into housing or left vacant.

While new housing is important, communities can also lose vital shared social infrastructure.

We believe there is an opportunity to rethink how some of these spaces might serve future generations.

The Bulls Head could become:

• A local success story
• A national case study
• A replicable blueprint
• A model for community-led wellbeing spaces in former pubs

Partnership Opportunities

We are currently seeking:

• Strategic partners
• Community partners
• Funding partners
• Heritage expertise
• Wellbeing practitioners
• Local organisations
• Volunteers and community champions
• Feasibility study support

We are particularly interested in collaborative approaches that ensure the project is community-led, sustainable and locally rooted.

Immediate Priorities

Phase 1 – Feasibility & Engagement

• Community consultation
• Stakeholder engagement
• Building assessments
• Heritage research
• Business modelling
• Partnership development
• Funding strategy

Phase 2 – Stabilisation & Early Activation

• Essential repairs
• Safety works
• Temporary programming
• Community events
• Pilot activities

Phase 3 – Full Restoration & Launch

• Refurbishment works
• Interior fit-out
• Programme delivery
• Long-term operating model
• Impact measurement

Conclusion

The Bulls Head represents a rare opportunity.

At a time when many communities are losing shared social spaces, this project offers a chance to restore one and reimagine its purpose for a new generation.

By combining heritage, wellbeing, creativity and community ownership, we believe The Bulls Head can become:

• A catalyst for connection
• A contributor to regeneration
• A source of local pride
• A welcoming space for everyone

Most importantly, we believe it can become a place that belongs to the community once again.