Public House Preservation

Image Caption:The Sportsman Hotel in Chorleywood - Redeveloped as flats

It's easy to take your local pub for granted. We're all accustomed to meeting our friends for a drink in the sociable atmosphere of our favourite pub, and we're all used to the sight of the traditional pub that, in one form or another, has been part of the landscape of Britain for centuries. The pub provides an informal meeting place for all members of the community, and can help to define an area and shape its character. The Campaign for Real Ale recognises the importance of local pubs and is concerned at the rate at which pubs are being closed across Britain. A closed pub here and there may not seem to make much of a difference; but as more pubs are lost, the ones that remain become more vulnerable; and some communities no longer have a pub at all.

Image Caption:The Robert Peel in Watford - Earmarked for demolition

The main threat to pubs is redevelopment, as their owners seek to maximise the financial return from the land by converting pubs to housing or by carrying out other profitable forms of development. This problem is particularly serious in the country, but it's also a problem in urban and suburban areas, as the land occupied by pubs and their associated car parks and gardens can be highly desirable to developers.

To back up their planning applications developers will often claim that a pub is unviable as a business. CAMRA branches across the country are urging their local councils' planning departments to look very closely at such claims and not just take them at face value. CAMRA would like councils to adopt policies requiring landowners to show that every effort has been made to market the site as a pub and to provide convincing evidence that the business is unviable. The Watford & District CAMRA branch is lobbying Watford Council to include such a policy as part of its forthcoming Local Development Framework (LDF).

It's our plan to ask Hertsmere Council and Three Rivers Council to include a similar policy in their LDFs. We'd really appreciate the help of CAMRA members in those areas in order to influence the councils' decisions. If you're resident in Watford, Hertsmere or Three Rivers and would like more information about our Pub Preservation campaign then please see our Contacts page for telephone numbers and email addresses.

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The views expressed on this site are not necessarily those of the Campaign for Real Ale Limited. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information on this site is accurate and up to date, no responsibility for errors and omissions can be accepted.