A Radnorshire pub which recently came under community ownership has been shortlisted in the 2025 Rural Community Business Awards.

The Radnor Arms Community Benefit Society, in New Radnor, is a finalist in the “Keeping It Local” Category. The Rural Community Business Awards is sponsored by Lands Improvement, and hosted by Plunkett UK. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held at Royal Society of Chemistry in London on Thursday 3 July.

The category will look at whether or not finalists have been able to source locally wherever possible from lime plasterers, woodworkers, craftspeople, to locally brewed ales.

A spokesperson for The Radnor Arms said: “We proudly support local brewers, bakers, artisans, artists and welcome pop-up folk, who bring food & ice-cream vans to the pub, who live in the village. We’re more than just a pub. Our toilets remain open daily, even outside of trading hours, and we established a Book Stop for the community and a team of volunteers who make everything happen.”

The Keeping It Local award is sponsored by The Co-op. More than 50 individuals from across the UK put forward their community business and individual champions for the nine categories in this year’s awards.

Sarah Benn, Membership Manager at Plunkett UK, said: “It has been inspiring to see so many people nominate their local community-owned businesses, truly emphasising the significant role they play in their communities. We celebrate the considerable impact each one is making in its local area, and we are looking forward to next month’s awards event when the winners are announced.”

The Radnor Arms also recently hosted their first pride themed event since opening, with locals in the area commending them for their pride flag decorations. One customer said: “It’s nice to see in such a rural community. It feels very progressive and long overdue.” The evening saw local resident Tony host a pride themed quiz.

Plunkett UK is a national charity which supports people in rural areas to set up and run a wide range of businesses in community ownership. It does this to achieve its UK-wide vision for resilient, thriving and inclusive rural communities. There are more than 800 community-owned businesses across the UK, and each one is democratically owned by community members. They can be any type of business ranging from village shops, pubs and cafes, through to woodlands, fisheries and farms. For more information about the Awards go to https://plunkett.co.uk/rural-community-business-awards/