Historic Scottish seaside village denied community buyout to reopen only pub in town

Efforts to reopen a historic pub in a historic Scottish coastal village are in jeopardy after ministers rejected a community buyout bid.

The local community has been pushing to buy the Albert Hotel in North Queensferry - one of only two pubs - both of which have been closed - in the historic town.

An application had been submitted to the Scottish Government applying for consent to exercise the right to buy under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.

But Fife councillor David Barratt has confirmed rejection of the bid, saying the application had been rejected last month.

The Albert Hotel, North Queensferry (Pic: Michael Gillen)

“In the decision notice, the minister accepted much of the bid, but indicated they were not satisfied with the sustainability of the business case,” Cllr Barratt said in a post on social media.

“The decision concludes that ‘the likely effects of not granting consent are that the building will continue in its present state’, and so essentially rejects the possibility of success in favour of likely failure.

“While this seems perverse, it is the nature of the legislation that means the Government must assess the application in front of them. The community trust met at the weekend and, having reviewed the decision, believe there are errors in procedure and reasoning, giving strong grounds for appeal. The appeal process is likely to take several months.”

The hotel dates back to 1824, but has been closed since 2017.

Replies to a post on Facebook confirming the decision have expressed disappointment, with one person writing about how the Albert could thrive under community ownership like the Red Lion in Culross.

They wrote: “For such an iconic spot on the Fife coast with the views that it has, it is such a depressing sight to come around the corner to see this all boarded up as well as the completely run-down Ferrybridge [pub] on the other corner. It's hardly an enticing view for locals or visitors.”

The pub was granted a premises license in 2018, a year after it was closed and boarded up. Before it was shut down it had been a hotel and bar for almost 200 years, and predated the Forth Bridge by a few decades. It was named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s visit to the town in 1842.

At the time of closure, the Albert’s owner wanted to change the use of the building and convert it into flats. This plan was rejected by Fife Council. The original proposal was withdrawn after running into more than 100 objections, and returned with a fresh bid in December 2021 for one two-bedroomed flat and three flats with three bedrooms.

Since then the developers say the building has been left in serious disrepair. They have said the former nine-bedroom hotel, bar and restaurant has become infested with wood rot and is not safe for use without redevelopment.

The latest planning application for the hotel and bar was in 2023. At the same time, to save The Albert from development, the North Queensferry Community Trust started their bid to buy the building.

Community ownership of businesses such as pubs is not uncommon across Scotland, with the Old Forge in Knoydart reopening after a successful community buyout in 2022.

The Red Lion in Culross was bought by the community in 2023 after a successful fundraising campaign, backed by Outlander stars Caitriona Balfe and Same Heughan. The show made the Fife town famous, and the crew and stars visited the pub during filming in Culross.