Commentary: Ode to the local – and why we lose them at our peril

Published on Sunday 27 July 2008 23:25

YOU may ask why should we be concerned about the fact that up to 56 pubs a month are being lost for ever. Well, with them goes a part of our British culture and, in many rural areas, vital services.

The traditional British pub provides an environment where good beer and food can be enjoyed in a relaxed, social and responsible environment.

They are also records of Scotland's historic past, whether it be the magnificent splendour of Bennet's Bar in Leven Street, Edinburgh, the literary heritage of the Oxford Bar in Young Street, Edinburgh, or the longest continuous bar in the UK at the Horseshoe Bar, Glasgow.

Traditional pubs also give visitors a unique insight into the regional produce, providing an outlet for a huge range of locally-brewed ales.

The huge and growing demand for local real ales is demonstrated by the 11 per cent growth in beer volumes enjoyed by local brewers in 2007.

While overall beer sales are in decline, locally brewed real ale sales are booming.

As Mike Benner, the chief executive of Camra, said, when the Community Pubs Foundation (www.community pubs.org.uk) was formed: "The pub provides a place for local groups to meet and a safe environment for friends and family to relax and enjoy each other's company.

"The loss of a valued community pub will have a negative impact on the local economy, community and tourism." This fact has been recognised by pub supporters for a long time.

For example, Pub is the Hub (www.pubisthehub.co.uk) was set up in 2001, through the Rural Action Programme of Business in the Community, by the Prince of Wales.

It encourages breweries, pub owners, licensees and local communities to work together to help retain and enhance rural services in isolated rural areas.

Pubs such as the Shoulder of Mutton, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and the Mussel Inn, in Down Thomas, Devon, have adapted and opened post offices and village shops to reinforce the idea that pubs not only offer a social gathering point, but can also offer a range of services to the community.

Pubs face unprecedented threats in the next few years: rising costs, falling sales, high beer tax, legislation and regulation, short-termism of pub company plans, poor planning policy and the health lobby are all doing their bit to make life difficult for publicans.

There is no doubt that, if pubs are to survive in today's competitive leisure industry, then it is important that they become more market- focused. Licensees need to find out what their locals want, organise events and promote them accordingly.

Unfortunately, the day has gone when people just visit a pub because it is a pub.

Regional provenance and quality are important factors, and people are looking, ever increasingly, to reduce their "food miles" and understand where their food has come from. Products such as real ale are produced from natural ingredients, with the simplest of processing to retain natural flavours. Combine this with local production and direct delivery to the pub, and the appeal is obvious.

One initiative that builds on these factors is LocAle (www.camra.org.uk/locale), which seeks to encourage publicans to stock local real ales and not only to encourage people to visit their pub, but also to encourage money to be spent and retained locally and to celebrate what makes their locality different.

&#149 Ian Brocklebank is technical director of Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, an independent, voluntary consumer organisation that campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights.