Time at the bar please - what next for West Berkshire's pubs?

To many, the village pub is still seen as a vital community asset and an invaluable place to socialise and enjoy a meal.
This view has been emphasised recently, with two of the district’s pubs – The Old Boot at Stanford Dingley and The Langley Hall in at Beedon – both temporarily saved from closure after support from local residents.
However, the statistics don’t make for good reading.
According to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 31 pubs are closing across the country every week, with three per cent of all suburban drinking holes closing their doors in the past six months alone.
More than half a dozen of West Berkshire’s pubs have fallen victim – with the majority being converted into houses – and another, The Rising Sun in Burghfield Common, turned into a Tesco store.
Time has been called at several of the district’s pubs in recent years, including The Blue Ball in Greenham, The Wellington Arms in Newbury, the Falmouth Arms in Woolhampton, The Black Horse Inn in Thatcham and The Lamb Inn at Curridge.
There are still question marks over the future of others, with a planning application submitted to turn The Rising Sun in Woolhampton into 14 new homes.
The Rising Sun in Stockcross, which is owned by West Berkshire Brewery, has been closed since last year and the lease is currently being advertised online.
The lease for The Greyhound in Tidmarsh has recently been sold, while the lease for the Blackbird in Bagnor is currently being advertised.
The leases for the Coach and Horses in Midgham, the Angel Inn at Woolhampton, The Crown Inn at Theale and The
Coach at Beedon are also being advertised, although the current leaseholders of the latter have insisted that it will stay as a pub even if sold.
Elsewhere, the community of Chaddleworth has been without a pub since The Ibex closed its doors in 2012, although it is scheduled to reopen after a planned refurbishment.
So what exactly has put people off going to pubs?
The pubs officer for West Berkshire CAMRA, Glenn Parsons, said: “Times have changed and drinking habits have changed with them. When CAMRA started in the 1970s every fifth shop was a pub.
“With supermarkets selling cheap booze now and everything you want to watch on TV in your living room, people need a good reason to go out these days.
“It is always sad when a pub closes because people have fond memories of drinking and socialising in them, but sadly the demand isn’t what it used to be.”
Mr Parsons added that he believed the smoking ban in 2007 was another factor in people’s decisions to stay away.
But what is it that the locals want from a pub?
Upper Bucklebury resident Andrew Wilson said: “The pub (Cottage Inn) is a vital part of our community and is a fun place to go.
“We are often there on a Friday night, often with a large group of friends.
“We would normally eat and, of course, food offerings are vitally important in a village location.
“For pubs like these to survive locals have to visit them as often as they can but will only do this if the offering is good.
“This, in my view, is something in which The Cottage Inn excels.”
However, despite the statistics, it is not all doom and gloom.
There are plenty of West Berkshire pubs that are thriving and have been recognised nationally for their food and drink.
One of those success stories has been the Tally Ho in Hungerford, which, when threatened with closure, was bought by a consortium made up of local residents.
Under provisions outlined in the 2011 Localism Act, community groups can nominate pubs to be listed as ‘Assets of Community Value’ – providing communities with the power to intervene when faced with a pub going up for sale.
There are now 600 pubs listed as Assets of Community Value across the country, although CAMRA says that not enough is being done to protect valued community pubs.
They claim that the government is “letting communities down” by allowing pubs to be converted to supermarkets without planning permission.
CAMRA says that pubs support more than one million UK jobs and inject an average of £80,000 into their local economy each year.