Councils in England are being urged to be the ‘last line of defence’ of pubs by protecting them from redevelopment.
A joint report by the Campaign for Real Ale and Local Government Information Unit sets out key ways local authorities can help stem the tide of pub closures, which currently stands at 28 a week.
They include adopting strong pub planning protection policies in local plans and using Article 4 directions to ensure planning permission is always required before pubs can be demolished or converted.
With just 450 pubs currently listed as assets of community value, the report argues far more councils could use this tool to protect their public houses.
But the authors also said Government should reform ‘weak planning laws’ so that councils and communities have a greater say over the fate of local pubs.
Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of LGiU, said: ‘Pubs play a vital role in many communities. But across the country this precious resource is being lost at an alarming rate. Councils play a crucial part in protecting pubs and we hope that local authorities will draw inspiration from the examples featured in this report and act now to prevent our pubs from disappearing forever.’
Those examples include Cambridge Council, which commissioned an audit of the city’s pubs before using it to shape protection policies. Lewisham has successfully aligned the various tools at its disposal – including Article 4 directions and the London Plan – to save pubs from redevelopment.
Camra’s head of communications, Tom Stainer, said: ‘CAMRA is grateful to the trailblazing councils who are leading the way in pub protection but, it is still too few, we want all councils to follow suit and we hope the ideas in this report provide a useful starting point.
‘Pub closures are not as simple as a badly run business or a changing marketplace, there are many external factors and pressures which have a bearing on pub survival. He added: ‘At the moment ministers are letting down communities by allowing pubs to be demolished or converted to a whole range of retail uses without any planning permission being required.’
