A POPULAR pub in York is set to be registered as an asset of community value.

If The Golden Ball in Bishophill is granted the status, it means the site cannot be disposed of without the neighbourhood being given a chance to buy it.

The venue, in Cromwell Road, is the city’s first community co-operative pub and hosts a range of events - from fundraisers to group meetings and parties.

Micklegate councillor Jonny Crawshaw welcomed the news.

He said: “The Golden Ball is a fantastic example of a genuine asset of community value.

“Since becoming the city’s first cooperatively owned pub several years ago it has gone from strength to strength.

“As well as hosting music and quiz nights, it has rotating art exhibitions - usually showcasing local talent - and I personally have used it regularly for community meetings as and when issues crop up.

“It is a welcoming and friendly pub at the heart of the Bishophill community and I hope this designation will help further protect it for years to come.”

A report prepared for a council meeting on July 15 says the pub has been listed as an ACV in the past and adds: “The Friends of The Golden Ball state in the nomination form that the Golden Ball has been operated as a viable co-operative pub for the last five years and is now facing a bright new future on a ‘free of tie’ basis.”

The Grade II-listed pub was taken over by a co-operative in 2012 after 180 investors raised more than £75,000 by investing £400 each in shares in return for a say in the pub’s running and an annual dividend of up to five per cent. Cooperative secretary Peter Kilbane, now a councillor for Micklegate, said at the time: “It’s local people doing things for themselves.”