A developing threat to your local

By Paul Burnell
The One Show

Camra say more than 50 pubs close a month

The traditional British pub has seen a variety of threats in recent years - including the growth of home drinking, the rise of the gastro pub and most recently the legal ban on smoking.

But BBC TV's The One Show has found one of the biggest threats comes from brewers wanting to cash in on the property boom.

No communities are immune, whether it is the idyllic country pub or the archetypal street-corner boozer in a big city.

The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) says pub closures are running at 56 a month.

Legal loophole

The group is lobbying MPs to close an alleged legal loophole which, it claims, allows developers to demolish pubs without the need for planning permission.

Pubs are under threat in both urban and rural locations

To turn a pub into a residential dwelling, planning permission must be sought from the local authority. A viability test must be completed and owners must prove they have made efforts to sell it as a business.

Some locals have claimed that owners price pubs unrealistically so they are not sold, or have deliberately run pubs into the ground.

Pub owners - either individuals or companies - often find that, due to surging house prices, it is more lucrative to turn the pubs over to property development.

CAMRA is also calling for all new large housing developments to include provisions for a pub.

Local campaigns

It recognises that pubs are often the heart of the community - a fact that galvanised the villagers of Ben Rhydding in Yorkshire four years ago, when Punch Taverns called time on their only pub, The Wheatley.

Villagers fought to save The Wheatley from demolition

The company hoped to sell the pub to property developers.

But determined villagers waged a campaign to stop the planned conversion into flats.

Punch Taverns' plans to sell to property developers were dashed after the villagers convinced a planning inspector that The Wheatley was still a viable business.

Campaigners enlisted the help of an academic who compiled a massive report saying that it was an essential amenity for local people including the elderly.

Punch Taverns had heavyweight legal representation, but the campaigners still won the argument.

However it was a Pyrrhic victory - as the pub is still empty and boarded up, one year after a planning appeal, with no sign of it reopening.

Punch Taverns told the BBC it plans to reopen the pub but could give no clue when.

London threat

The majority of pubs under threat are in urban areas with London one of the worst affected cities.

We've seen a lot of traditional London pubs disappear Trish Murphy, landlady, The Nell Gwynne

One typical example of a threatened pub is the historic Nell Gwynne, which is in a small alley off the Strand in London's West End.

There has been an inn on this site since the Middle Ages but the current pub dates back to the 17th century and is named after the actress and mistress of King Charles II, who used to frequent the pub.

The current clientele includes office workers, brickies and thespians.

Landlady Trish Murphy fears the worst after owners Family Leisure Group failed to renew its lease on the Grade Two listed building.

More than 1,500 people have signed an online petition on the Downing Street website to save the pub.

Campaigners fear the company will exploit a legal loophole to avoid having to apply to the planners for change of use permission.

If the pub is turned into an office foyer, and the foyer is open to the public, they may not need to apply for a change of usage.

The company has refused to comment.

Trish, who has been pulling pints for the last 14 years, said the help of English Heritage cannot be enlisted unless the company announces its plans officially.

"I'm just worried. We've seen a lot of traditional London pubs disappear," she said.

"The Pineapple down the road was a historical building but it's now a hamburger joint."

You can learn more by watching The One Show, BBC One, Wednesday 15 August 2007, 1900 BST