Latest local news reporting of Campaign

The free local newspaper Pulman's view from Sidmouth has caught up with the Campaign and published  a good report on the Campaign. To read this article, which is on page 4 of the 11 June edition, follow the link - http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?pbid=b553c14a-f023-4ec6-a5ac-b9d745b0d550

Punch Taverns to demolish 18th century village pub

A worrying & cautionary tale about a Punch Taverns owned pub near Selby, north Yorkshire has been reported in the press. According to Punch Taverns the pub, the Odddfellows (yes, with three D's!) Arms, is no longer viable due to a lack of custom & it has therefore decided to demolish it & replace it with new build homes.

The Odddfellows Arms is situated on the main street of Goole village and is an 18th century property. Punch Taverns application to the local authority to demolish the historic pub & to replace it with new houses looks set, apparently, to now obtain planning permission for their proposals.

These proposals to demolish the old pub looks certain in spite of local opposition from residents. To read the press article on this story - http://t.co/8kLbJNbJkC.

This story shows the opportunities that owners of pubs will look for if they think that it is more financially beneficial to them to close a pub (and even demolish it) rather than to work with a community to retain it & look at ways to make a pub more viable.

It may well be that the Red Lion's curent owners, Punch Taverns, or any potential future owner, would not seek or obtain permission from East Devon District Council to demolish it. However, we have to be alert to the lengths that owners of pubs who no longer want to run them can go to.

This is why the Campaign is determined to retain the Red Lion as a pub in the heart of the village.

Is David Cameron's timing right for the Campaign?

Save The Red Lion Campaign would prefer that an investor purchased the Red Lion with a vision for it to be a successful pub in the heart of the village. But we have to be mindful that this such a person may not come forward & so the possibility of having to consider a community purchase of the pub has to be an option that is considered.

Two financial hurdles would need to be got over in any attempt to turn the Red Lion into a community pub. Firstly, obtaining sufficient funds to develop a business plan & prepare a viable bid for the Red Lion. Secondly, putting in place a funding structure to both buy the pub & get  it operational. We have to bear in mind that the asking price for the pub is £295,000 + VAT, and that a considerable investment would be required to modernise the property.

So the headline in an article in the Daily Telegraph the other day caught our eye - "David Cameron pledges £250m for local communities to buy pubs & shops".

The Prime Minister is reported as saying "Everyone knows how vital institutions in our towns & villages, like village halls, playing field, local pubs. And everyone knows how - despite best efforts of parish & local councils - these can face closure. I want our social investment funds to give people the opportunity to take them over & run them".

The Prime Minister said that Big Society Capital & the Big Lottery Fund will make a long-term commitment of £250m to "communities with amitions to own local assets like pubs, shops, community centres & affordable housing". Of this money £50m will go into a community asset fund to provide grants & loans to help get projects off the ground which could go on to be commercially viable over the long term.

The Daily Telegraph article can be read by following the link - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10102846/David-Cameron-pledges-250m-for-local-communities-to-buy-pubs-and-shops.html.

It looks as if the Prime Minister's announcement could be just the thing to allow the Camapign to develop real plans to purchase the Red Lion should our dragon/fairy godmother not materialise. It is said that in life timing is everything. That could be so right in this case!

Today's Sidmouth Herald article

So, no news is good news. Today's Sidmouth Herald contains a report about the fact that the Campaign came very close to being included on ITV's Daybreak programme this week. So whilst the Campaign was not news on Wednesday, it is on Friday!

You can read the Sidmouth Herald article by following this link - http://sites.google.com/site/thepubinthevillage/7.6.13SidmouthHeraldArticle.pdf.

Fair Deal for Your Local

Fair Deal for Your Local campaign group held a rally in Westminster today. Fair Deal for Your Local campaigns against the unfair relationship that pubcos - companies that own their pubs & tie landlords into uncompetitive rents & purchasing arrangements - have with their landlords. This is supporters of Fair Deal for Your Local at Westminster outside the Houses of Parliament today -

The Red Lion pub, that The Pub In The Village is championing, is currently owned by Punch Taverns. Punch Taverns is a pubco.

• Has Punch Taverns done right by the pub whilst it has owned it?
• Has Punch Taverns done right by the landlord whilst it has owned the pub?
• Has Punch Taverns done right by Sidbury village whilst it has owned the pub?
• Has Punch Taverns done right by those who use the pub whilst it has owned it?

If you answered NO to any of the above questions then you should be interested in supporting the Fair Deal for Your Local camapign. Go to the campaign's website at - http://www.fairdealforyourlocal.com/.

#FAIRDEAL4YOURLOCAL  We are all campaigning for the same thing - pubs that can be allowed to be viable without being made uncompetitive by pubcos. The Pub In The Village is confident that the Red Lion can be a viable & successful business away from being owned by a pubco.

TV plug pulled!

Regretfully, due to competing reporting demands on the ITV Daybreak breakfast programme's schedule for tomorrow morning, it is unable to provide a reporter & crew to put on the live reporting from the Red Lion involving Campaign supporters.

These last minute changes to television reports is not unusual, but is none the less disappointing. However, it is good to note that the Campaign was even on the programme researcher's radar, and that until it became logistically impossible, the live link up into the village was being planned for.

Perhaps ITV regionally will follow up our story.

STOP PRESS! Campaign to feature on 5 June ITV Daybreak Programme

It is just over 3 weeks since The Pub In The Village - Save The Red Lion Camapign was formally launched. We are proud to have achieved good local publicity & have 112 Facebook friends, as well as being followed on Twitter by 111 regional businesses & press/media.

But now the Camapign is about to go national! On 5 June the Fair Deal for Your Local campaign - which seeks a fairer deal for how pubcos - pubs that own pubs - operate their pubs, has a rally in Westminster. Their pubs are tied to them  - meaning that their pubs don't have the same freedoms that free houses have.

Being tied to a pubco can lead to a lack of investment in a pub & higher drink prices. This can lead to pubs become unprofitable. This can lead to a lack of customers. It can lead to pubs being closed or sold as they don't bring the money in for the pubco.

Do you recognise this in our local?

So, the Save The Red Lion Campaign is totally in tune with the campaign objectives of Fair Deal for Your Local. Which is why on 5 June ITV's Daybreak breakfast time programme, which will have a piece on the Fair Deal for Your Local rally, is giving the television piece a real life example of a pub under threat. That is why the ITV Daybreak programme will speak to Save The Red Lion Camapign Supporters live from the Red Lion  pub.

Don't just turn on to  watch the ITVDaybreak programme. Come down to the Red Lion pub & become part of the story.

Save The Red Lion Campaign now has national attention!