CAMRA hails Big Society Support for Community Owned Pubs
19 July 2010
By Emily Ryans
This morning the Prime Minister gave a speech on the Big Society, endorsing pubs as local assets and promising Government support for communities wishing to save threatened pubs through community ownership.
Community ownership for pubs would not only be invaluable in saving pubs threatened with closure but there is clearly an appetite for it. CAMRA's recent polling research shows that 63% of regular pub goers would be willing to join efforts to save their favourite local pub if it was under threat.
CAMRA has therefore welcomed this morning's announcement, and has written to the Government seeking assurances that the Big Society will be backed up with adequate resources to provide business, legal and financial advice to communities wishing to save their pub by running it as a mutual, co-operative or social enterprise.
Jonathan Mail, CAMRA's Head of Policy and Public Affairs said:
"Pubs provide the vibrant heart of many communities and provide an invaluable meeting place and the centre for countless local activities. The loss of such pubs can be devastating to community spirit and identity and Government has a key role to play in enabling communities to come together to save their local pubs."
Read David Cameron's full speech