Saving Your Local Pub: Community Power & Funding Explained

Discover why local pubs are vital community hubs, providing jobs, supporting local businesses, and boosting social connection. Learn about the financial challenges pubs face, like rising costs and taxes, leading to many closures. This episode explores how communities are stepping up to save beloved pubs, often aiming for community ownership. We discuss past government support like the Community Ownership Fund and proposed new rights and funding streams to help preserve these important assets for the future.

Key Takeaways:

• Pubs are important community assets that contribute significantly to local economies and social cohesion.
• Rising costs, taxes, and changing consumer behavior are causing many pubs to close.
• Community ownership allows local people to buy and run pubs for community benefit, not just profit.
• The Community Ownership Fund previously helped groups buy assets, including pubs, but is no longer available.
• New government plans include a Community Right to Buy for assets like pubs and potential new funding or support through initiatives like the Plan for Neighbourhoods.

Important Definitions and Concepts:

• Community Pub: A pub run for the benefit of the local community, often reinvesting profits back into community initiatives.
• Community Ownership Fund: A past government fund that provided money to community groups to help them purchase important local assets, including pubs.
• Community Right to Buy: A proposed new legal power allowing local authorities to require landlords to rent out persistently vacant commercial units, potentially enabling communities to take them over.

Discussion: Considering the challenges pubs face and the potential for community ownership, how can communities and government work together effectively to save valued local pubs and ensure they thrive as community hubs in the future?

Source: Pubs and Community Funding
Volume 767: debated on Monday 19 May 2025

Transcript

Amy: 0:00

Hello and welcome to The Bench Report. You're listening to Amy and Ivan. This time, we're exploring a topic that's, well, really part of the community landscape across the UK. the local pub.

Ivan: 0:15

Absolutely. And our source material for this is a recent parliamentary debate. MPs were really getting into the challenges pubs are facing and what support might be out there or what's needed.

Amy: 0:25

So our aim is to basically pull out the key points from that debate. What are the struggles? What are the potential fixes? Just to give you a clear picture of what was said.

Ivan: 0:33

And what jumps out straight away from the debate is this universal feeling among MPs that pubs are much more than just somewhere to grab a drink. They really hammered home their role as essential community assets.

Amy: 0:47

Yeah. That phrase, the heart and soul of towns and villages, seemed to come up quite a bit, didn't it? It's about bringing people together, that social hub.

Ivan: 0:55

Definitely. But it wasn't only the social aspect. The economic side got a lot of attention, too.

Amy: 0:59

Right. The jobs, the money they generate.

Ivan: 1:02

Exactly. And they had some pretty specific figures in the debate. Apparently, pubs added over $34.4 billion to To the U.K. economy in 2024.

Amy: 1:10

Wow, that's huge.

Ivan: 1:12

It is. And paid over $17.4 billion into tax. Plus, you know, they create local jobs. They support local suppliers, farmers, producers.

Amy: 1:21

And then there's that other side, the community aspect you mentioned, tackling loneliness, social isolation.

Ivan: 1:26

That came through really strongly, providing that sense of belonging.

Amy: 1:31

But despite all this value, the debate painted a pretty grim picture of the pressures they're under right now. It sounds like a tough spot economically.

Ivan: 1:39

It really does. The challenges listed were, well, significant. Coming from all angles, really. You've got rising costs for everything, increasing taxes, those soaring energy bills we all know about, general inflation hitting the bottom line.

Amy: 1:52

And on top of that, changes in how people spend their money, maybe going out less, plus still feeling some effects from the lockdowns.

Ivan: 1:58

That's right. And then specific government policies were mentioned too, things adding to the burden like higher employer national insurance contributions and business rates.

Amy: 2:06

So it's a complex mix of pressures.

Ivan: 2:08

Very much so. And they shared some worrying stats about the wider hospitality sector, which gives you an idea of what pubs are up against. Because of rising wage and NI costs, the debate mentioned 65% of hospitality businesses are planning to cut jobs.

Amy: 2:24

65%? That's a lot.

Ivan: 2:27

It is. And 55% planning to cancel investments, 26 6% cutting training hours. It shows just how tight things are.

Amy: 2:34

And there was that stark warning in the debate, too, that once a pub closes its doors for good,

Ivan: 2:39

we will never get them back.

Amy: 2:41

Yeah.

Ivan: 2:41

That phrase really stuck. It highlights how permanent these losses can feel.

Amy: 2:46

Which makes the examples they shared even more important, right? Showing exactly why these places matter so much to people locally.

Ivan: 2:52

Precisely. They brought the community value to life.

Amy: 2:54

The Garibaldi Pub in Redhill was mentioned quite a bit, wasn't it? A community-run, not-for-profit place.

Ivan: 3:00

Yeah. A great place. Great example. All profits go back into the local area. And they do so much more than just serve drinks. They've got quizzes, karaoke, a book club, music bingo, even forces fry-ups for veterans.

Amy: 3:12

A real hub. And didn't they mention a community garden, too?

Ivan: 3:15

They did. Used by local groups, young adults with special needs. But despite all that, and being their 150 years winning awards, the debate highlighted they still need funds to actually buy the building to secure its future. Shows the challenge of just owning your own place.

Amy: 3:31

And there were other little snapshots, too, showing that variety, like the Royal Oak in Wolverhampton West doing charity work for NHS blood bikes. Or

Ivan: 3:38

the Wellhouse Inn in Mugswell mentioned for its history, its garden. Even a local ghost story, apparently.

Amy: 3:45

Adds character.

Ivan: 3:46

Definitely. And the Sportsman in Mogador, a historic hunting lodge supporting other local businesses. These stories just illustrate that unique local connection.

Unknown: 3:57

Music

Amy: 3:59

So given these challenges and the clear value, what support did the debate talk about? What help is there or planned?

Ivan: 4:05

Well, the Community Ownership Fund, the COF, came up. It had provided quite a bit of funding, over 135 million to hundreds of projects overall. And specifically, 13.7 million helped, say, 52 pubs. They mentioned examples like the Rectory in Chesterfield.

Amy: 4:20

What did they do?

Ivan: 4:21

Got 300 pound K to create a wellness space and a community radio station. And the Swan in Tunbridge used 300 pound K to buy and renovate their pub into a community hub.

Amy: 4:32

OK, so that fund was helping, but the debate noted it's currently closed.

Ivan: 4:36

That's right. Closed for applications now. But looking ahead, the government announced plans for a new right to buy for community assets.

Amy: 4:43

What does that mean exactly?

Ivan: 4:45

The idea is to give communities more power to step in and save important local buildings like pubs if they're under threat or up for sale.

Amy: 4:53

But just having the right to buy isn't enough if you don't have the money.

Ivan: 4:56

Exactly. And that point was made in the debate calls for a dedicated fund to sit alongside this new right to buy to actually help communities finance these purchases.

Amy: 5:07

Makes sense. Were other support mechanisms discussed? Any ongoing resources?

Ivan: 5:11

Yes. They mentioned guidance and tools still available from the old COS support provider on the My Community website. So there's some know-how out there. And there's the bigger Handpoint 5 billion plan for neighborhoods that's targeting funding at 75 specific communities over the next decade.

Amy: 5:26

And could that potentially help pubs in those areas? areas?

Ivan: 5:29

Potentially, yes. For things like restoration, boosting local tourism, which helps pubs, or even grants for energy efficiency upgrades.

Amy: 5:38

And this idea of a community right to buy, that's also part of the wider English devolution bill.

Ivan: 5:44

It is, yeah. It's linked to giving local areas more power, including letting communities take over empty shops, pubs, things like that.

Amy: 5:51

And another tool mentioned was high street rental auctions. Sounds interesting.

Ivan: 5:56

It's a newer power for local councils. If a shop What about business rates? That's

Amy: 6:16

always a big one for pubs.

Ivan: 6:17

Oh, really? Didn't know it was that high.

Amy: 6:25

Yeah.

Ivan: 6:27

And for those that do pay, there's a 40% relief for this financial year, 2025-26. They expect clarity on what happens after March 2026 in the autumn budget.

Amy: 6:39

This parliamentary debate really drove home that pubs are seen as vital community hubs, really important places.

Ivan: 6:46

Absolutely vital. But they're also under some serious economic pressure from lots of different directions.

Amy: 6:51

And why this matters to you listening is because these discussions in parliament directly impact the future of those local spots in your community.

Ivan: 7:00

It could be the pub on your street, the health of other local businesses nearby, even just the general feel and social connection in your neighborhood.

Amy: 7:06

So understanding these challenges and the different ideas being flowed Which brings us to a

Ivan: 7:16

final thought for you to consider. Given all these pressures and the different approaches talked about community ownership, new rights to buy, high street changes, rates relief, what do you think is the most effective way forward? How do we best support and maybe even evolve the whole idea of a local community hub for the future?

Amy: 7:34

And what's the right balance? How much should be down to community action versus government funding and support? Something to mull over. As always, find us on social media at BenchReportUK. Get in touch with any topic important to you. Remember, politics is everyone's business. Cheers. Cheers.