Punch pub saved from Tesco — another fights on

A Punch pub in Warwickshire has been saved from conversion into a Tesco Metro store but another is still fighting against the same fate.

The struggle of local campaigners highlights how the supermarket giant is now looking to take advantage of pub closures to further spread its influence and how Punch is continuing with plans to sell off pubs to raise money to service its debt.

Pubs are attractive to Tesco because they are already licensed to sell food and drink and so do not require a change of use application.

Punch had been in talks with Tesco about selling the closed Sara Siddons pub in Warwick. However, the local community has managed to persuade it otherwise with 2,000 signing a petition against the sale.

The pubco will now re-open the pub and has begun the search for tenants. "Having thoroughly reviewed the options around the future of the Sarah Siddons, and given the strength of feeling from local campaigners, we are delighted to confirm that the site will indeed continue to trade as a pub," a spokeswoman said.

"We have recruited new licensees and look forward to working with them to build a business that is a credit to the local community.

"We are currently finalising investment plans to refurbish both the interior and exterior of the pub and also improve the food offering to attract a broader customer base. We anticipate that the pub will re-open in three months time with a new image and name.

"We are confident of a successful future for the pub given the level of interest and support demonstrated by the local community."

Fight goes on​

But the struggle for a another group of campaigners against a similar future rumbles on. Punch is currently in talks with Tesco about the sale of the Walnut Tree in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.

Almost 2,500 protestors have now signed the petition to keep the pub open. "The pub is very busy and is a real part of the community," said campaigner Jane Padington. "We have football teams, darts teams, pool teams — it is not like it is an unpopular pub."

Padington said the area had "no need" for a Tesco Metro but the nearest pub, should the Walnut close, was at least a mile away.

"Within a 150m radius of the pub we already have three convenience stores, an independent butchers, bakers and grocers," she said. "There is a large Tesco store under a mile away and a Tesco superstore just 2.5 miles away, on which they are building another floor. I just don't see why we need another one.

"The pub is a hub for the community and we need it. We have been given a bit of hope by the decision at the Sara Siddons pub."

Punch said that it would not comment on the Walnut Tree as it was in discussions with a third party.

Labour MP James Plaskitt has backed the campaign at both pubs. "If this is a Tesco strategy, we should resist it," he said. "They already have their supermarkets in our area, and their on-line shopping option. They have a big share of the market, and are already under investigation by the competition authorities."