BEER TRAVELERS

Here’s an alarming number. Research the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) shows 26 pubs a month are lost in Britain, and that
figures may actually be much higher – and that pubs at the heart of the local community are in particular danger.

Thus CAMRA plans its first Community Pubs Week Feb. 17-24, designed to raise the profile and importance of pubs in the community. CAMRA defines a community pub as a pub which appeals to a wide cross-section of the local community rather than being predominantly targeted at particular social or age groups.

In a press release, chief executive Mike Benner said: “All soaps on TV and radio have community pubs - The Bull, The Rovers Return, The Queen Vic, The Woolpack - but sadly many real communities in rural and urban areas are in danger of losing or have already lost their community pub.

“Community pubs, particularly those in more remote rural areas, are often the hub of the lives of the local people. None of us want to be in a situation where the only way we speak with our neighbours is through a car window or a stolen conversation at a supermarket many miles away. However an increasing number of these pubs are being permanently lost.

“We know people care about their communities as, in a terrific show of support, four million people recently signed a petition calling for the Government to do more to save rural post offices. The threat to the community pub is extremely dire and unless we do something to curb the trend CAMRA fears many communities will find their local pub torn from them.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006 at 10:15 am and is filed under Bars, brewpubs, Beer culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.