Prodigy singer Keith Flint’s pub The Leather Bottle may be taken over by Essex community

A village pub that was previously owned by The Prodigy frontman could potentially be taken over by the local community. Pleshey Parish Council has said that a steering group had been created to potentially take over The Leather Bottle in the village near Chelmsford, Essex.

The pub closed in April, but it is hoped an offer could be agreed by July, with the venue potentially becoming a community pub. Keith Flint, passed away in 2019 at the age of 49, and had taken over and renovated the pub in 2014.

The Prodigy frontman then ran the pub in Pleshey until 2017, until his time as The Leather Bottle’s landlord came to an abrupt  end. His lease ran out and Flint gave people no signs he was quitting his tenancy.

Pleshey parish councillor Daniel Kenning, told the BBC’s Local Democracy Reporting Service:  "The owners have given us, the community, their blessing to find out what it would take to turn it into a community pub. But nothing has been agreed yet."

The councillor had said pop-up pub events had been held at The Leather Bottle to gauge public support for the proposed changes. Kenning said: "The pub is very popular in the community. It’s the only pub in the village, so people are very keen it stays open,"

Part of the pub is believed to date back to the 15th century, when Pleshey Castle was still in use. Kenning had also said that the building has been a pub for around 150 years.