Calls to protect pubs – but not all can be saved

Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said property developers must show they have tried to sell licenced premises – but they warn not all public houses can be saved.

The call comes after proposals to convert both the Bell Hotel and the Labour In Vain – both in Stourbridge – along with the Old New Inn in Brierley Hill have all been lodged with planning officers in the last few months.

Mark Haslam, CAMRA’s press officer for West Midlands, said public houses are often an attractive investment for developers because of their prime locations and associated land such as car parks and gardens.

He said: “If a pub has been unsuccessful then national planning guidelines place an onus on the owner to demonstrate to the local planning authority the businesses is not viable and also demonstrate they have made an effort to market the premises.

“If both of those have been done then ordinarily, CAMRA won’t object.

“Unfortunately some reach the end of the line and you can’t put your finger in the dyke and stop every pub closing.”

He was speaking after developers applied to part demolish the derelict Labour in Vain on Red Hill, Stourbridge, and convert it into six, two bedroom apartments A separate scheme for the Bell Hotel on Market Street would see it turned to 14 apartments.

In addition, Dudley Council has received a proposal to demolish the Old New Inn, on High Street, Brierley Hill, to be replaced by three commercial units.

Ryan Hunt, the chairman of the Dudley and South Staffs branch of CAMRA, has said the recent decline in traditional pubs was sad but the rise in new micro-pubs opening had slowed the overall fall in licenced premises.

Saying CAMRA did campaign to save pubs that are a community asset, he added: “Some people feel we have reached a saturation point in terms of economics and as people’s lifestyles change and demand changes so of these older buildings are going to have to go and be transformed into alternative business use.”