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CAMRA urges UK Government to help communities save their pubs

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has lamented the Government’s decision to put an early end to the Community Ownership Fund which enabled groups of people to take ownership of local pubs destined for demolition.

CAMRA urges UK Government to help communities save their pubs

The UK government launched the Community Ownership Fund in 2021 with the aim of handing out £150 million worth of grants to local groups looking to take control of pubs, village shops, sports grounds and other community spaces that would otherwise be sold, converted or demolished.

The State-funded UK scheme to save community sites was due to run to the end of 2025. However, the Government announced on 23 December that the scheme would close early, having allocated just £135m of the total budget.

Officials blamed the early closure on the state of public finances, saying the unspent money would be allocated to other government priorities, according to The Guardian.

CAMRA has now addressed a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to reinstate funding for communities wanting to save their local pubs.

Paul Ainsworth, chair of CAMRA’s Planning Advisory Group, said he wanted to see more Government funding of “pubs for the people by the people”.

He praised the success of the Community Ownership Fund in saving local pubs from demolition, conversion or sale.

CAMRA urges UK Government to help communities save their pubs

“Having thriving pubs at the heart of community life can be a key part of the Government’s mission to have vibrant communities and thriving local economies. There are now over 200 community-owned pubs in the country, and this has proved to be a remarkably successful model, with previously struggling pubs now popular and successful enterprises,” Ainsworth said.

But Ainsworth warned that further funding and support was needed to ensure that pubs remained “at the heart of community life for decades to come”.

What’s next?

In place of the Community Ownership Fund, the Government has announced that it will introduce a new ‘Community Right to Buy’ for local groups looking to take ownership of a pub in their neighbourhood.

CAMRA has urged the Government to introduce a dedicated programme of advice, guidance and funding to go alongside the right to buy.

In a letter addressed to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, CAMRA said the new scheme would be of “limited practical use without a programme and funding stream specifically for community ownership of pubs”.

“We are therefore asking that such a programme is re-introduced,” the letter stated.

Further policy changes

CAMRA has urged the Government to make further policy changes to protect community pubs.

The group’s recommendations include safeguards for pubs in the High Street Rental Auctions scheme, amendments to provide better protections against unlawful demolition of pubs and the introduction of a legal definition of a pub for planning purposes.

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