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Pubs at risk: PMA's roundup of pubs threatened with closure

08-May-2016 - Last updated on 09-May-2016 at 13:34 GMT

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s round-up of pub closures and those at risk, gathered from local press stories.

MP Simon Danczuk may be most famous for his tabloid stories, but he took some time out for his own ‘selfie’ at the Bull’s Head in Smallbridge.

The Manchester Evening News reported Danczuk was supporting a campaign to save the pub from closure and conversion into a veterinary surgery by Kent-based owners Prontoserve.

“I cannot believe the audacity of this southern-based firm,” Danczuk told the paper.

The Queens Pub in Barton

The Scunthorpe Telegraph reported that the licensee was ‘gutted’ about the closure of the Enterprise pub – due at the end of this month.

Licensee Will Hendry blamed the smoking ban and the introduction of 24-hour openings for the closure.

"One of the final nails in the coffin was the ridiculous hours. It killed the community spirit.” He told the paper.

Enterprise are now selling the freehold with no future restrictions on use.

Read more: http://www.scunthorpetelegraph.co.uk/Losing-pub-shame-people-Barton/story-29225582-detail/story.html#ixzz489cyGWrf

Copt Hill in Houghton

The Sunderland Echo reported the pub closed with a sign on the door stating ‘we will be closed until further notice’.

The paper also found a local couple who were planning on having their wedding at the venue before the closure.

However, a former manager is now re-opening the Enterprise-owned pub and aims to ‘build bridges’ with those affected by the short closure.

Stag Inn in Carlisle

The News and Star has reported that villagers have stepped in to try and save the Stag Inn from closure, with the pub being shut from last December’s flooding.

It had been up for sale for two years – but now the group, led by a former licensee of the pub, aim to buy the pub off owners Marston’s.

The group have applied for an ACV from Carlisle City Council in an attempt to halt any developments and raise the £150,000 to purchase it.

The Craws Nest in Carnoustie

A group of friends plan to save The Craws Nest in Carnoustie by changing it into a non-profit venture, the Courier reported.

The freehold pub will continue with the same licensee – and the move has garnered local interest.

One of the buyers, Michael Bell, told the local paper: “Instead of the doors closing, this past week has been one of the busiest in recent times. There has been a really positive response from the locals”

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-mearns/66713/group-of-friends-step-in-to-save-angus-pub-from-closure/

The King’s Arms in Crewe

A licensee is set to close his pub in Crewe after Enterprise Inns requested £40,000 in improvements after a fire inspection, according to the Crewe Chronicle.

Ian Whittaker, who owns the lease, claimed the list of improvements should be undertaken by Enterprise – but said they had refused.

He told the paper: “We feel completely let down by them. We don’t have the money to carry out the work and therefore have no choice to leave.”

http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/crewe-south-cheshire-news/kings-arms-pub-crewe-faces-11220925

The Silk Kite in Tamworth

The JD Wetherspoons venue – part of a series of closures planned by the company – was announced by the Tamworth Herald.

Local residents took to social media to either complain or support the loss.

One user said: “I genuinely nearly cried.”

The Quince Tree in Henley

A pub which is part of a business which includes a café, farm shop and delicatessen is set to close, the Henley Standard has said.

Although the other elements of the business will continue, the owner, Bobby Yerburgh, said the pub had to close due to not being profitable.

Previously called the Stoner Arms, Yerburgh bought the pub in 2012 after it had been shut for four years, and refurbished and extended it.

He blamed an inability to gain permission to increase the opening hours on the closure.

He told the local paper: “Trading in Stonor has always been a challenge, which has not been helped by severe restrictions on opening which have hampered the ability of the site to perform to its maximum potential.”

Read more: http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=42082

The White Hart in Chalfont St Peter

Residents in a town in Buckinghamshire are mourning the closure of a pub leaving their village without a boozer, getbucks has reported.

The licensee, Rachael Bree, was reported as saying that there were no new owners yet for the pub, so its doors would have to close.

The captain of the pub’s darts team told the news site: “I hope someone finds a way of preserving these wonderful old places as they have been serving the community in broadly the same way for hundreds of years but along with many other ways of life they have disappeared over the last few decades.”