According to the Campaign for Real Ale, Britain is losing pubs at a rate of 18 a week. And many of them are being turned into convenience stores. Have pubs begun to disappear from your local area?
According to the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), more than 200 pubs have been converted into supermarkets since January 2010. Of these, 130 have been converted by Tesco and 22 by Sainsbury’s.
Apparently this is because pubs can very easily be converted into shops because planning permission isn’t required. Pubs are already designated as retail units.
Pub closures in your community
I find the sight of a boarded up, derelict pub pretty depressing. But I feel much more miserable when I see an express supermarket that clearly used to be a pub. At least when a local boozer is boarded up, there’s potential for it to be bought and reopened by a new landlord.
To me, pubs are so much more than just somewhere to purchase a drink and perhaps some food. Pubs are social spaces that bring people together. I just don’t think communities get the same social value from a quick trip to Tesco Express for some milk and a frozen pizza.
Not that Tesco and Sainsbury’s are the only ones to convert old pubs. They get taken over by a whole range of supermarkets and independent shops. Camra argues that current planning permission laws need to change in order to make it more difficult for supermarkets to take over premises, giving communities a better chance of saving their pubs.
Maybe we can help keep pubs open by popping into our local more often? Or perhaps you think local convenience stores are more valuable to you and your community?
Have any pubs closed recently in your local area?
Yes (72%, 207 Votes)
No (19%, 53 Votes)
I don't know (9%, 26 Votes)
Total Voters: 286
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