Mine's a Pint Issue 42

PUB CLOSURES - CONTINUED
issue) which should make it harder to convert
pubs to shops or other uses without a
full planning application being made to and
approved by the local authority. This could
help save many local, community pubs.
An annoying issue with closed pubs is that
often they lie derelict or boarded up for
months if not years before being developed.
Apart from being an eyesore they could still
have been trading!
I pass by The County Arms in Watlington
Street very often and what a sad sight that
is. Once a fine Morland pub, it must be one
of the slowest redevelopment sites in town
as it has been shut for years and is still a
long way off becoming new flats.
“An annoying issue
with closed pubs is that
they lie derelict or
boarded up for months
if not years before
being developed”
While the local boozer gets shut down, we
continue to see new “venue or theme bars”
opening up in our towns and cities. While
they may offer something different to
drinkers they are not proper pubs as I know
them. However, one interesting twist on the
subject is the rise of micropubs. These are
small units – often closed shops – where a
minimalistic pub is set up, usually with one
or two people running it selling cask beers
and cider; no lagers; no machines; no TVs
etc., just beer and conversation. The nearest
example is in Newbury (The Cow and Cask)
and these new ventures often breathe life
into areas where real ale has been hard to
find or where the nearest pub has been converted
to an eating house or theme bar.
When I was in Australia recently my brother
took me to his “local” which was a modern
pub in a small shopping precinct (very similar
to our estate pubs). This had two bars
with the lounge being for drinkers with a
small section of diners (pub grub). The old
public bar had been converted into a bookies
run by the Tote, where you could get a
beer and put your bets on at the same time.
It seemed to me a great idea – look at the
number of bookmakers that are next to or
very near a pub in the Reading area, so
instead of filling in your betting slip in the
pub and running next door to place the bet,
you could do it all in one place. Sadly, our
laws would not allow this, but if it did it
might have been a way of saving some of
our now-closed estate boozers.
Anyway, at the end of the day the message
from CAMRA is still “Use it or Lose it”
British pubs are unique and admired the
world over so let’s fight to keep as many
open as we can.
Dave McKerchar
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Mine’s a Pint
27