Despite its antiquity, the British pub as an institution is on the decline. A guest column from Andy Lugger Southway city councillor and leader of the Conservative Group on Plymouth City Council.
Compounded by the latest change to smoking laws, 18 pubs close every week across the UK and this figure is rising. Sadly, most of the Plymouth pubs that have closed in the last 20 years did so after hundreds of years of trading.
I always champion the licensed trade and have launched a campaign to save the Plymouth pub from extinction. In the 18th and 19th centuries, before the establishment of the police courts, the pub was central to local justice, accommodating the petty sessions (the forerunner of the magistrates’ courts) and public auctions were commonly held in your local boozer together with coroners’ inquests and other meetings.
In addition to selling your favourite tipple, the trusty old ‘local’ has been the traditional focus of community life in villages, towns and cities for centuries. The proposed changes to the smoking laws in beer gardens could be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for the Plymouth pub trade. I cannot allow this great trade (a sector I was brought up in) to wither and die.
I want to encourage publicans to think outside the box and offer community based activities within the pub and diversify like other industries have in recent years. Pubs are underused during the day; they could provide drop in centres to serve a hot meal (paid for by local or central government) for those needing company or unable to heat their own homes because of the latest government cut to Winter Fuel Allowance.
I also represent the Plymouth Licensed Victuallers and encourage those involved in the licensed trade to join this ancient institution as it now nearly defunct. The roots of the Licensed Victuallers go back over 200 years with the group was established to care for licensees in need and their families.
In 1833, the National Licensed Victuallers Association was formed. Smaller regional LVAs (like the Plymouth one today) were established under its umbrella with the aim of protecting the business interests of those running public houses and to act as lobbying bodies on their behalf.
Despite being a vital part of the pub trade, LVA membership is falling away dramatically every year. The Plymouth LVA was once a big organisation but has been mothballed for a number of years. It is now re-established, and are actively recruiting new members.
Many pubs are closing and LVA events are poorly attended. It is, therefore, important that the LVA continues to support Plymouth’s licensed trade – fighting battles with brewers with a united voice and forming an effective pressure group.
The men and women of Plymouth’s licensed trade will continue to fight to preserve the British pub as a worthwhile institution, but need all the help they can get. There are no grants or funding available to keep the doors open, so we are looking for public support. My message is ‘use it or lose it’.
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