Green Dragon, Wymondham, Norfolk

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Through its Local Community Champions scheme Pub is The Hub has been able to support South Norfolk District Council in choosing the winner of their annual pub competition as the Green Dragon in Wymondham.

The Green Dragon is a 14th Century Grade II listed building. Justin Harvey took over the running of this delightful medieval public house four years ago. Since then Justin and his business partner Colin Tickle have turned the pub into a thriving business completely refurbishing the function room, which is now an added asset for community activities. This is serviced from a newly formed cellar. The kitchen revamp was another major expense, along with the outside decking and dining area – all complementary to this great pub.

All the fresh produce, meat and fish comes from local suppliers where possible and there is an ever-changing range of real ales with a superb list of wines. They run acoustic open mic nights, a ukulele club, quiz nights, shows every week and book groups. They host Rotary Club meetings, PTA meetings, sponsor the local rugby club and have raised thousands for local charities. Recently they have sponsored a youth bus to help and advise young teenagers.

Located in the charming town Wymondham with its magnificent twin towered Abbey and medieval streets, the Green Dragon has a true draw for the tourists and locals alike who repeatedly return to this superb pub.

More about the South Norfolk Community Pub Awards:

Pub customers in the county are asked to vote for their favourite pubs giving details of the help the publicans have given to the community, from which a short list is drawn up. The highly commended are selected as finalists from each of the five regions in South Norfolk and are further scrutinised by a touring panel of judges to pick the outright winner.

The judges team, made up of two councillors and a representative from Pub is The Hub, visit these regional finalists, looking at the pubs trading areas plus catering kitchens and beer cellars, talking to the licensees about how they make a difference in their respective neighbourhoods. All the finalists have taken the time and energy to help their communities, meaning even more work and responsibility, and are wonderful examples of what can be achieved through hard work.

Each year the bar is raised to new highs and 2013 was no exception with outstanding pubs and extraordinary publicans making positive steps to improve the services for people in their local area.

The five regional winners were:

  1. Kings Head, Woodton
  2. Kings Head, Brooke
  3. Waterfront, Diss
  4. Kings Head, Heathersett
  5. Green Dragon, Wymondham

This competition really highlights the tremendous value local pubs bring to the community with all the pubs going that extra mile and the publicans acting as a catalyst to get communities to pull together for the needs of their neighbourhood. This shows that good licensees can make a positive contribution to their local communities, and become enthused central providers of everyday essential services and facilities.

South Norfolk District Council should be congratulated for running this inspired competition that showcases licensees and the fantastic work they do for their respective communities. All the winners receive plaques and the outright winner gets the councils help to put on a future community event worth £1000. This is a great example of inspiring and promoting the work of licensees in their communities even when local grants are not available.