POTTERS BAR

The Potteries Pub Preservation Group
Aim: To investigate, protect and promote public houses of special character in The Potteries
& Borough of Newcastle
Articles by David Lycett, PPPG Publicity contact: Email: pppgpublicity@gmail.com Telephone: 01782 630153
PPPG COMMUNITY PUB OF THE YEAR
The Potteries Pub Preservation Group (PPPG), which
was set up 20 years ago, is proud to announce that our
community Pub of the Year 2016 has been jointly awarded
to The Holy Inadequate, Etruria and The Congress Inn,
Longton. This is the first
time ever we have had
joint winners.
PPPG’s Publicity Officer,
David Lycett, said “Our
group annually votes for
our Community Pub of
the Year based on six
criteria, which we ask
our members to consider
when making their choices. Pubs can either be corporate
members of the group or pubs nominated by members for
inclusion on our voting form.
We ask members to consider what elements make a
Community Pub. Examples of this are the licensee’s
standards of professionalism, the internal and external
appearance and lay-out of the pub, the beer quality and
prices, the pub’s involvement in the local community
through charity work and the ambience of the pub and the
hospitality of its clientele.
Each pub will have the trophy shield, kindly donated by
Titanic Brewery, for six months. The Holy Inadequate will
have the trophy shield for the first six months. This was
recently presented to them by our Chairman, Andy Parkin;
many of you may know him as the very helpful gentleman
at Hanley Bus Station. Andy said “ I am delighted to
give this award to Paul and Sarah Cope and his staff for
running such a welcoming pub that serves great beer and
cider and where you can hold a conversation.”
Six months from now, The PPPG will be presenting the
Community Pub of the Year award to Shaun Russell
and his wife Sam at the Congress Inn, Longton, which
our members hold also in high regards for its community
focus and welcoming atmosphere.
Our third place award goes to the Duke William Pub,
Burslem run by Mark Aston, again a pub that PPPG
members warm to for its excellent service and atmosphere.
What all of these pubs share in common is that they have
been bought by individuals who were willing to invest in
pubs which were either closed or under threat of closure
and turned them into successful and very welcoming
pubs.
THE ROYAL OAK IN
RUSHTON SPENCER: WORKING
CO-OPERATIVELY
I had the opportunity
to listen to a talk by
members of the Royal
Oak Pub Community
Investment Company
(CIC) which is
Staffordshire’s only
co-operatively run pub.
This was held at the Red Lion in Leek, forming part of
a meeting of the Staffordshire Moorlands CAMRA Subbranch.
The talk was given by Sandra Hughes, a member
of the CIC.
Sandra said that The Royal Oak, one of three pubs in the
village of Rushton Spencer, had had a very chequered
history. When it was owned by Marston’s Brewery, it had
had a series of different licensees, some more successful
than others.
On an annual walk which she attended with other residents
of the village, there developed much talk about The Royal
Oak. Many were concerned that the pub might close.
This got Sandra and some of her fellow villagers thinking:
rather than just talking about saving the pub, what could
they practically do to save it? There was some scepticism
initially about what they could do. What they wanted, said
Sandra, was a pub that served good food and beer, as
well as acting for a hub for the local community. So they
organised a series of meetings at the village hall and
invited everyone to attend. The community decided to go
34 POTTERS BAR AUTUMN 2016