Consumer group CAMRA wants Deputy PM to introduce fund specifically to help communities take over ownership of their local pub
CAMRA is calling on the Deputy Prime Minister and her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to introduce a dedicated fund for community groups looking to take over ownership of their local pub.
The call comes after the existing fund which helped local people to take over their pub as a community owned business came to a sudden end before Christmas 2024.
The Community Ownership Fund provided funding for groups of local people to take over ownership and the running of community facilities that would otherwise be sold, converted or demolished, including pubs.
The Government announced on 23 December that the final Community Ownership Fund money had been awarded to successful bidders, including eight community pubs.
However, ministers also announced that no further funding or bids would be allowed.
The Government are introducing a new ‘Community Right to Buy’ for local groups looking to take ownership of a pub in their neighbourhood. CAMRA believes right to buy must come alongside a dedicated programme of advice, guidance and funding to make sure community pubs go from strength to strength.
Commenting, Chair of CAMRA’s Planning Advisory Group Paul Ainsworth said:
“Having thriving pubs at the heart of community life can be a key part of the Government’s mission to have vibrant communities and thriving local economies. There are now over 200 community-owned pubs in the country, and this has proved to be a remarkably successful model, with previously struggling pubs now popular and successful enterprises - pubs for the people by the people.
“Ministers have already announced that they are going to introduce a ‘Community Right to Buy’ for local assets like pubs that are under threat of closure or conversion. This is very welcome and is set to be a gamechanger for local people wanting to save their pub.
“However, it is vital that as well as a right to buy community assets, groups of local people can also access advice, support and funding to help make sure bids to take over pubs as community-owned businesses can be successful, securing the pub at the heart of community life for decades to come.”
Ends
Notes to editors
A copy of the letter to the Deputy Prime Minister is below.
The eight pubs that secured funding in the latest and final round of Community Ownership Funding announced on 23 December 2024 were:
The Old Neighbourhood, Chalford Hill, Gloucestershire.
The Rectory, Chesterfield.
The Fox Inn, Little Ryton, Shropshire.
The Crown Inn, Newcastle on Clun, Shropshire.
The Kings Arms, Cleeve Prior, Worcestershire.
The Punch Bowl Inn, Burton in Lonsdale, North Yorkshire.
Tafarn y Plu, Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd.
The Swan on the Green, West Peckham, Kent
Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2 Marsham Street
LONDON. SW1P 4DF
13 January 2025
Dear Deputy Prime Minister,
Future of financial support for community-owned pubs
We are writing in response to the announcement of 23 December 2024 in relation to the future of the Community Ownership Fund.
As a consumer organisation we want to see thriving pubs in every community. Our volunteers and branches in all parts of the UK are regularly involved in pub saving campaigns and supporting those communities looking to save their local pub as a community-owned businesses.
The Community Ownership Fund has been a lifeline to many communities across the UK looking to save their local pub, including of course those announced as successful bidders on 23 December.
Now that the Community Ownership Fund has closed, we would like you and your Department to consider introducing a dedicated programme of support and funding for the community-owner pub sector.
Prior to the existence of the Community Ownership Fund, your Department commissioned the ‘More Than a Pub’ programme. CAMRA sat on the programme’s steering group and saw at first-hand the benefits of having a dedicated programme of advice, support and funding to help community groups be able to realise their ambition of saving their local pub as a community asset and as a community-owned business.
We are grateful to officials in the department for their constructive engagement in recent months in relation to developing the new ‘Community Right to Buy’ policy.
However, we believe that this new right will be of limited practical use without a programme and funding stream specifically for community ownership of pubs. We are therefore asking that such a programme is re-introduced as a successor to More Than A Pub and the Community Ownership Fund.
In addition, we continue to believe that further policy changes are necessary to help more communities successfully save their local or take it over as a community asset.
These includes safeguards for pubs in the High Street Rental Auctions scheme, amendments to provide better protections against unlawful demolition of pubs and the introduction of a legal definition of a pub for planning purposes. We have enclosed a copy of a briefing on these issues.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. If you would like to discuss this matter further or if we can assist in any other way in terms of the Community Right to Buy policy or protecting public houses as community more generally please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Gary Timmins
Chair, Pub and Club Campaigns Committee,
CAMRA
Paul Ainsworth
Vice Chair, Pub and Club Campaigns Committee,
CAMRA
CC: Alex Norris MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
