PUBS BARS HOTELS AND PROPERTY INVESTMENTS: BBC Inside Out

15 Jul 2010

BBC Inside Out - The demise of village pubs

THE LOSS OF VILLAGE PUBS
PUBS IN PERIL| local pubs are the latest victims of the property boom
Local pubs are falling foul of the property boom as publicans sell on and cash in.
Is this the end for a trip to the local?
Sunday afternoon and there’s nothing nicer than a bracing walk in the countryside and a pint of real ale in a local village pub. But if your Sunday stroll is in Suffolk, pack your hiking boots and plasters, you could be in for a long walk!
The village pub is the latest victim in the house price boom with buyers queuing up to turn pub bar into breakfast bar. Over 200 villages in Suffolk alone have lost their pubs. Inside Out investigates.
Profit in property
The Fox and Hounds - pub or private residence?
With dwindling trade and the property market at an all time high, many pub landlords have spotted the potential in turning one free house into many, and making a substantial profit in the process.
In Thurston, Suffolk, one such couple have been accused of planning just that. Stephen and Mandy Lyons are the landlord and landlady of the Fox and Hounds pub.
"We did want planning, but it didn’t mean to say we’d use it," explains Stephen. "It was like a contingency plan."
Contingency plan or not, the Parish Council aren’t taking any chances.
Stephen and Mandy insist that pints will always be pulled here
"We got the pub listed, we wanted to preserve the pub. We didn’t want the pub to shut," says Parish Council chairman Derrick Haley.
But according to landlady Mandy, they need not have worried. The couple have begun refurbishment already and intend to plough in even more money, making the Fox and Hounds a profitable venture. But as profitable as a housing development? Estate agent Ken Anderson, fears not.
"It’s become difficult to sell something as a business," says Ken. "It would go for much more as a private residence."
The Cambridge effect
How far would you go for a pint?
And no-where is this more pertinent than in East Cambridgeshire, where Ken estimates that village pub, Dyke’s End, could fetch somewhere in the region of £350,000 to £400,000, were it sold as a private residence.
The property would fetch less than half that amount if it remains a pub. But remain a pub it will. Concerned villagers have clubbed together and co-operatively bought The Dyke’s End, ensuring local pint supping will remain for years to come.
Publicans pull out
The local authorities of East Cambridgeshire are one of the first to implement stricter rules and stipulate that a pub may not be closed unless the landlord can prove that it is not a viable business.
Some publicans fear that further legislation may put them in an even tighter stranglehold. The problem presents no easy solution and as the property market shows little sign of letting up, local pubs will continue to disappear under the weight of new housing developments.
For Suffolk Sunday walkers at least, it looks like the hip flask of whiskey may have to make an unwelcome comeback and as for locals, well, there’s always the telly!