The George Community

Share Offer

Find out more about our Share Offer and what it means for you and the local community

The Team

Meet the Management team, elected at our second shareholder AMM on 20 November 2023. This includes five of the original team which established The George Community in 2021, plus newly elected members

Robin Draper

Chair

Moved to Bethersden 35 years ago with Marian and three teenage children. Once in Bethersden he served 10 years as Chief Executive of a local farmers Co-operative and then in 1996 started his own gardening business. 'The community of Bethersden has been hugely important to me and centre to this has been the friendship that I have enjoyed with many villagers at The George'

Joanne Brannan

Membership and Communications Officer

Moved to Bethersden ten years ago to buy her first home and start a family with her husband and lifelong village resident, Duncan. Formerly a sales director with an international media agency, Jo now splits her time between raising two young children and running her own business from home. She was excited to be part of the original team that brought The George back to life as the now vibrant community hub

Roger Kelly

Treasurer

Has been an acoustic engineer for 30 years and started his own business well over twenty years ago. The business was recently sold and that has allowed him to be an integral part of the team that was successful in reopening The George. He has lived in Bethersden for over ten years and will continue to help the local community

Alex Withington

Vice Chair and Commercial Manager

Alex has lived in the village with his wife since 2014 and now has 2 young (and very active) children. Formally Head of Commercial Operations at BT, he's now Head of Restaurant Sales at Deliveroo. Alex loves cask (proper) beer and as a result of helping out at The George's annual beer festival, he's now taking personal responsibility for bringing some fantastic local drinks to The George!

Michele Sadler

Secretary and Community Officer

Michele has lived in Bethersden for 33 years and runs her own business from home. Michele fulfills the official role of Secretary to the Society and to the Management Committee, according to the rules of the Society. She is responsible for elections, and for ensuring the rules of the Society are followed. A further part of the role is to manage the agendas for Committee meetings

Jane Baerselman

PR &amp;amp;amp; EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Having only moved to Bethersden in 2020 I wasn’t able to experience The George, as it was closed at the time, but felt passionately that it should be brought back to life as a hub for the community and beyond. I am delighted to have been voted onto the committee to handle the external communications and PR for the pub; delivering positive messages and news to our existing customers and to drive new people through the doors to experience our amazing food and drink offerings

Colin Clifton

FIRE AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

Fiona and I have lived in Bethersden since 1997 and our two children were born and grew up here. I retired in 2022 having spent my entire working life in railway operations and safety management, latterly as Head of Safety & Environment for Southeastern. I'm pleased to now be able to devote more time to village life in general and the success of The George in particular

Philip Stubbs

BUSINESS SUPPORT

My family moved to the village in 1963 and have been involved in many of the village organisations since. I have a background in the leisure industry, including running my own pub which was voted Northampton pub of the year for two consecutive years, and was runner up in the national catering pub of the year sponsored by “The Publican” newspaper. I look forward to bringing my operational experience to the committee in order to help the George reach its maximum potential

Welcome to the George Community

Please go to the pub website www.thegeorgebethersden.com/

ABOUT THE GEORGE
Standing in the heart of Bethersden in Kent, The George has, for several decades, been the social centre of village life.
Following the pub's closure in 2020, local residents came together to form 'The George Community' with the aim of saving it.
On 11th July 2021 we applied to the FCA to form the Community Benefit Society and The George Community Limited became a legal entity on 2nd August 2021.
With the support of Ashford Borough Council, Bethersden Parish Council, the Plunkett Foundation and our local MP Damian Green, a successful share offer was launched at the end of November 2022 which raised £300K in just a few weeks. With part-matched funding from the Government's Community Ownership Scheme, we were finally able to buy The George and took possession of the pub at the beginning of February 2023.
We have refurbished and reopened this most precious asset and aim to protect it for generations to come, with all profits redirected back into our community.
To be kept up to date please subscribe to our mailing list (please fill in details below) or follow us on Facebook and on Instagram @thegeorgebethersden

Contact Info

joannebrannan@georgecommunity.com

www.georgecommunity.com/

Contact us

Please fill the details below if you want to register and be kept up to date with The George Community

Allergen Disclaimer

The safety of our customers is extremely important to us, which is why we take allergies very seriously. As well as our restaurant, we operate a cafe at the George, which sells pre-packed bakery items, as well as home-made bakes from our local bakers.

Whenever visiting our restaurant or cafe, please advise a team member to make us fully aware of any allergies you might have before ordering from us. Though we have taken extensive steps to ensure that the list of allergen ingredients is accurate, we cannot say that any item is "free-from" any allergen, but only that it does not contain that allergen as an ingredient. If you have any queries relating to this, please see a member of staff upon your arrival at the George, or send an email to thegeorgebethersden@gmail.com

The George Community

Share Offer

About

Events and Opening Hours

The Team

Robin Draper

Chair

Joanne Brannan

Membership and Communications Officer

Roger Kelly

Treasurer

Alex Withington

Vice Chair and Commercial Manager

Michele Sadler

Secretary and Community Officer

Jane Baerselman

PR &amp;amp;amp; EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Colin Clifton

FIRE AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

Philip Stubbs

BUSINESS SUPPORT

Welcome to the George Community

Contact Info

Contact us

Allergen Disclaimer

Share Offer

About

Events and Opening Hours

The Team

Robin Draper

Chair

Joanne Brannan

Membership and Communications Officer

Roger Kelly

Treasurer

Alex Withington

Vice Chair and Commercial Manager

Michele Sadler

Secretary and Community Officer

Jane Baerselman

PR &amp;amp;amp;amp; EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Colin Clifton

FIRE AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

Philip Stubbs

BUSINESS SUPPORT

Welcome to the George Community

Contact Info

Contact us

Allergen Disclaimer

PR &amp;amp; EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS