Pubs
The Guardian has an article on how big business is wrecking our local pubs, and in particularly the rather celebrated case of Harveys and Lewes. I'm a little sceptical of the arguments put forward - there is at least a good a case in my mind that big business has resuced many of our 'local' pubs from seediness and squalor, though things might be different outside London.What is interesting in this case, however, is that Greene King, of which I have long been a very contented shareholder (though not at the moment, I found to my surprise yesterday) is the villian. Greene King has expanded rapidly over the last 8 years or so, and is admittedly now well on the way to being a huge international brewer. But not that long ago it was, to all extents, a small regional brewer, and it seems rather odd to hear 'Bury St Edmunds', that lovely market town in Suffolk, spoken of so disparagingly.
Update: A somewhat different story in the Economist about the decline in pubs in London's old-fashioned posh areas.
What is more, residents are increasingly fussy about having even the tidiest pub as a neighbour. The Australian, typically, had been barred from allowing drinking outside for some years. Late licences, after 11pm, are also almost unknown in smart residential areas. Residents squelched a bid by a local historical group, the Chelsea Society, to speak up for The Australian.
David Le Lay, the society's chairman, wonders how raffish village charms will survive without a certain tolerance from residents. “If we don't watch out, we'll all be living in a very prim and proper area.” A survey by his society found that in the late 1950s there were 54 pubs in the old borough of Chelsea. In 1980 there were 44 and by 2005 the total was only 26; three more have closed since then, though some may re-open. With pubs shutting up shop, some streets are empty and echoing at night; and one of the rare places where people from different walks of life congregate socially is in shorter supply.
Update II: Nick Cohen joins in on Lewes, saying that the Sustainable Communities Bill would mean the local council "will be able to compel Greene King to stock Harvey's Bitter". I've learnt that it's best not to take Nick Cohen's opinion as fact, and on the face of it this (obvously) or something like this doesn't seem to be explicitly mentioned in the Bill, which I'm reading here. I'll do some more research, but if anyone else knows. It would be a rather far-reaching law if true - it seems to me they could subsidise a pub if the area was lacking in them, but Lewes is certainly not, and I can't see how they can compel it, let alone 'merely' a provision of one type of ale, which surely is not a public service of enough importance to be covered by the act?
Labels: Alcohol
posted by Matthew @ 3/23/2007 11:10:00 AM
Comments: 10
