New to the area? How on earth do you meet people? A pub is the starting point for many. Sadly it is closed.

The mis-information spread by the major breweries about poor viability has at last been seen through by the press who had also sensationalised the demise of pubs through lack of viability caused by the smoking ban, drink-driving law, cheap supermarket alcohol, and any other excuse to cloud the real issues - such as a desire to sell the properties to make a quick return fo shareholders.

The Midmar Inn was not such a case however, even though the owners maintain all of the reasons led to its demise. One owner of a pub should not decide unilaterally that it is not viable. The rejection by the Scottish Office of the Planning application to turn it into a 5 bedroomed house confirms that legal process and Planning actually agrees with this. The onus is on the owners to put it on the market and see if someone else is prepared to invest and develop it into a business.
There are plenty of examples of succesful country pubs irrespective of location and the numbers of locals who drink there - locals will rarely make a pub viable but does not mean that it is not an important part of the Community. The Garlogie, Jaffs at Dunecht are very viable and excellent examples of what can be done. The fact that the owners of the Midmar did not make a sucess of it, inspite of trying, simply means that their formula wasn't right. It is like many businesses, some work , some don't.
To not put it on the market has been proven by the Planning department in Aberdeenshire and the Scottish Office to be contrary to the public interest and against planning policy.
I do hope that the current impass is resolved.

Myself and my family moved into Glenwood park in february 09, and although it would be nice to have a pub close by I feel the owners should do what ever they think is right for them, a business cannot be kept open for nostalgic reasons alone it has got to make a profit, the suggestions that it should be sold for a "fair price" are also not thought through as anyone selling there property/home sells for the maximum price they can get.

Care of the community is a morale obligation but looking after your family's well being and financial affairs has to come first.

It would be nice to see the inn and comers shop for that matter open again but only if it was a viable option for the occupier.

It is very small minded of the persons posting to say keep it open just because they go in and spend 80 pence on a soft drink once a week!

I have lived in the Midmar area for 26 years and have frequented the then 'Cottage Bar' and subsequently the 'Midmar Inn' throughout the whole of that time. It is the only remaining place that the community can spontaneously gather and enjoy each others company. It was a real pleasure to spot peoples cars in the car park and pull-in for a drink and a chat with friends. The community will loose a vital part of what makes it a community if the Midmar Inn is closed. In my view the Midmar Inn serves a vital function in maintaining the sense of togetherness and community. It should not be closed. I am presently working in Australia but intend to return home soon, I have many very fond memories of evenings spent in the Midmar Inn, it would be a great shame to loose this facility.

Having been a local and a regular pub customer for 29 years, I am very disappointed at the Midmar pub closure and in the manner that it was closed. There was no warning of permanent closure when I was last drinking there two days before the doors were closed. The official line at that time was it would reopen after the owners returned from holiday. A little more honesty would have been nice because it clearly wasn't a spontaneous decision. In the time I've frequented the Midmar Inn, there have been seven different owners including the current ones. Each owner had their reasons for selling but they all did the decent thing and put the property on the market and let someone else have a go at it. The viability of the Midmar Inn cannot have changed radically in the 3 years since the present owners bought it. The building infrastructure must have been an issue with the previous owners. The smoking ban has no doubt had an effect but remember, the pub didn't do any food apart from pies & toasties when I first started drinking there. The pub has evolved over the years and I very much hope it is allowed to continue to do so. I urge the present owners Dave & Debbie to sell it on so it remains an asset for the community. They can still come & drink with us in the same way as previous owners have done.

Long Walk

 Need the pub as it's a 5 mile walk to the dunecht and only 2 to the Midmar

 I was a regular at the pub until the smoking ban came into force. As I am a non drinker I went for the local banter and company. I do however enjoy my fags and the thought of standing outside on a winter evening was too much so did not use the pub as regularly as I should have. Dave & Debi were excellent hosts and did a lot to help me out. The meals were exceptional and no where else would have a touch on Agnes's cooking. I do agree that maybe they should try and sell as a going concern but no matter what I wish Debi and David, Agnes and Bob all the best for the future. You did us proud for the time you had the pub.

 Since moving initially to Sauchen approx 12 years ago I had become a regular at the Midmar Inn "Thursday night gathering"
I also used the Inn on a regular basis when we had friends and family up from Edinburgh. It was also a regular watering hole when we had visiting colleagues and customers from all over the world , and without exception they said that it was a much more enjoyable night that been stuck in a (quote) "plastic pub" in Aberdeen.
Despite moving some time ago to Alford I still made Thursday night "Midmar night" and there was always good crack between the locals , visitors and the accordion folk. I was very disappointed to learn of the planned closure and wanted to register my thoughts on what has always proved a popular place to visit - life without the sausage rolls and stoves or soup on a Thursday night has never quite been the same.
Once lost - never recovered ……It’s a decent size , with good car parking and has excellent potential qualities for an upgrade which would make the facility more flexible benefiting the landlords and the locals alike….. therefore I will give me whole hearted support to any moves that are being made to retain the "Cottage" I'm sure that with a relatively small expenditure it could be restored to its rightful position as a corner stone of the local community.

 p.s. there is more than one page of debate on this subject at Grampian Life, click on the page numbers at the bottom to progress through the comments.

Unfortunately I do not believe any comments I make in this e-mail will be aired publicly by yourselves on your site as it goes against your grain of thought, but I urge you to read them and think.

I lived over at Linton House, towards Sauchen for a number of years before deliberately moving closed to the Midmar, as I spent many an evening there having my dinner, whilst my partner was working overseas. I may not have been a "local" in that i moved into the area, but I always felt very welcome at the Midmar, with David, Debbie and Erin extending a warm welcome to myself and my family.

The suggestions that the Inn had been "run into the ground" are laughable. I know that David had piled money into the place, including a recent new kitchen and drainage works to sort out the Gents toilets. This was money from his own pocket that he earned whilst working abroad, not money taken through the till at the pub. Without Davids money Debbie would have had to close long before this.

I also find some of the comments from "regulars" laughable. I do not recognise some of there names or the "facts" they have been comming out with. Some of the "regulars" were only regulars whilst the pub in Dunecht was standing empty. The people shouting the loudest were the first to leave the Midmar as soon as Jaffs openned. When a pub loses a large percentage of its customers over night to another pub, then thats going to hurt. Whats more is that Debbie and Dave could do little to stop this. Changing menus etc as has been suggested would have no impact at all. Once a pub is openned that is in walking distance to your house, you are not going to drive 5 miles to another for a drink, are you?

As someone who spent many a lonely night sat in the bar, on my own, perhaps some of the folk shouting should have perhaps actually used the services of the pub in the first place. I well remember last year around Christmas and New Year, Debbie laid on a disco and DJ over the festive period, at a great cost to themselves. Just how many "locals" supported that..not many from what I saw!

Debbie also offered the back room for a local band to practice in, free of charge. She then laid on stovies or soup for them, free of charge. Many folk came in, bought a Coke, listened to a bit of music, had there free stovies and left, never to be seen again, unless something free was on offer. That is how some locals repaid Debbies kindness! I had even seen folk not even bother with the drink, just the free stovies.

I also laughed at the suggestion that Debbie should sell the pub "at a fair price" to someone else. Who in there right mind would buy a place whose books were shored up by external money. And who has the right to tell them what to do? They bought the place, they kept it going for as long as they could, and they know they will not get a fair price for it!! If they want to turn it into a house then only the "locals" who never supported the place are to blame.

My last point, and the point that really annoyed me, was the suggestion that charity money had not been paid. Unbelievable! I have been in the place when Dave, out of his own pocket, had contributed hundreds of pounds to the PC box, and any other charity where the money had fallen short of a round figure, so Dave would round it up. Again, the finger was pointed by someone I had never seen or heard of...not much of a regular then!

Dave and Debbie did a service to the community, they supported the community and various charities, raising thousands and thousands of pounds and they have been repaid by a minority of folk pointing fingers and accusing them of theft. Well done to those people who are effectively hounding them out of there own property and well done to those who did not bother with the place until now when they can get there names in the paper!

To the real regulars and locals that stuck by Debbie and Dave through thick and thin, I hold up a glass to you all.

 It is very sad to see the Midmar Inn shutdown with the barriers across the entrance. No-one feels good about a local business run by local people failing but the needs of the community should also be considered.

Midmar is such a spread out community, it needs locations where residents can meet and socialise. We see a tremendous community spirit as can be demonstrated by events based around the school/hall/church but these events are normally organised and sporadic. There's a real need to have an informal and regular meeting place such as the pub.

The loss of the Comers shop and now the pub seems to be typical of the modern way. Is Midmar to become just another dormitory village for people working in the industry and commerce of Westhill and Aberdeen? I hope not. Rural areas need rural businesses if they are to retain any hope of maintaining an identity and community. The Midmar Inn is a business first so it's only right that things need to change if it's not making money. However, it is also an important hub of the community and for that reason it and the people of Midmar deserve another chance. It may take some capital to bring it up to the standard of a modern country inn, after all the money seems to be in accomodation and good food these days but I'm sure there's also a good return to be had if that investment were to be found. Let's see it on the market at a reasonable price and then we'll know if there's anyone out there who's willing to invest.

We moved to Midmar in Feb 2006. Although we are new to the area, we are concerned about the closure of the pub. Prior to moving here, we lived for 10 years around the Carnie roundabout (xroads!) area, and before that, I lived at Wateridgemuir, Midmar for a year. We have therefore been coming to the Midmar Inn on and off for a long time – mostly to eat as a family, either just the four of us, or with visitors.

Midmar is a very special place – for such a spread out community, the sense of belonging here is like nowhere else. People have been so welcoming, we feel as though we have lived here forever!

It is true that along with the school and hall, the pub forms the hub of the community. It is a “constant”. I remember the Comers shop – if the pub is no longer a pub, there is no denying that Midmar will change, as it did when the shop closed. We may not have been “regulars”, but we miss the pub very much.

As local business owners, we do completely understand that Dave & Debbie have to do what is right for them, and their livelihoods. That said, if the Midmar Inn were to become a house, then Midmar will lose a vital facility.

We would like to be supportive of the owners in somehow finding a way to retain the Midmar Inn as a pub and restaurant.

As a local to the Midmar for many years I would like encourage the owners to put the inn on the market– at a fair price – to give others the opportunity to re-establish a business.

The reason pubs can be bought at such a low price is because of their slim economic viability. However it has always been thus, hence the regular turnover of country pub owners. Let someone else give it a go – there are lots of potential buyers out there, providing the price is realistic and based on a country pub and not a property development site.