CALLING TIME ON THE LOCAL

19-01-2008

Across the West Midlands, more and more local pubs are calling "time" and shutting their doors for good. Ellie Clifton wonders if the people who own them shouldn't be a bit more creative.

This building should be my local pub. It’s within easy walking distance from where I live. Last August it was closed and boarded up and it’s been sitting there, an empty shell ever since.

I only had the misfortune to go in once. It was when I’d first moved to Birmingham, so wanting to get to know some locals, and not knowing any better, my boyfriend and I went there one evening.

We weren’t exactly impressed! The pub had two entrances; the smoky back room was full of hard looking young men squaring up to each other, so we hurried on rather quickly.

The main bar had three old men sitting around in an otherwise empty room. I got the impression they’d been there most of the day; surrounded by over-flowing ash trays and extremely drunk, whilst not actively hostile, they spent the entire evening staring at me like I was some kind of alien (“a woman, in a pub, is that allowed?”).

Meanwhile the bartender struggled to make me a vodka and coke, eventually after much hunting producing a squashed bottle of flat coke from under the counter - anything that didn’t come out a pump, start with a ‘b’ and end in an ‘r’, was clearly beyond him. We had one drink, left and never went back.

So when in August I saw it had been boarded up, I wasn’t surprised or especially sorry. A big pub like that, in a prime location, I thought it would be snapped up in no time. There’s a good family market around there and quite a few students, I thought Wetherspoons or a similar chain would have refurbished and reopened it within a few months, and I was eagerly anticipating it; being able to walk to a pub, with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and getting to know people you are likely to see again, is something I value.

But no, 5 months on, it’s still sitting there, emanating neglect.

And now I’m aware of it I’ve started to notice yet more closed pubs; The Dingle and The Old Mill both in Northfield, The Wagon and Horses in Cradley. I’ve also heard about The Red Lion in Handsworth and the Floodgate Tavern in Digbeth.

Punch Taverns Plc which owns both The Dingle and The Old Mill blames poor trade on the smoking ban;

“…trading over the last eight weeks has been more subdued in what has been widely acknowledged as a challenging period for the sector, with declining consumer confidence coinciding with the impact of the smoking ban in England and Wales”.

This coupled with the rumour from Coronation Street earlier this month that they were going to turn the Rovers Return into a Gastro Pub or a Trendy Wine Bar to “reflect modern trends” suddenly made me think “is this the death knell for the local pub”?

The Campaign for Real Ale’s local representative Nigel Barker assures me it’s a positive thing, saying “The good pubs are doing really well, it’s the bad pubs that are suffering… if the smoking ban has finally closed countless stagnant “old man pubs” that’s no bad thing” and he’s right of course, but that still means less pubs per square mile and more buildings standing empty, and I think that’s a shame.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s no-one more in favour of the current smoking ban than me (well apart from Laurence Inman perhaps). I think being able to go out to a pub and not have to instantly wash everything I’ve been wearing the moment I get back home, is a great improvement. I just think it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way; “a trendy wine bar” OR a gastro pub”. Is that really the only choice now?

I have to say I’m not a huge fan of spending an evening in a “trendy wine bar”. They tend to have less seating and soft furnishings, are much noisier and the atmosphere is often ruined by the conveyor belt of strangers passing through. On the other hand, if pubs become too geared towards food, you tend to feel once you’ve finished your meal that you should leave.

Over the years “local” pubs have been allowed to become synonymous with “dodgy, old man pubs”, so isn’t the smoking ban the perfect opportunity to change all that? I personally think there’s still a huge market for the local pub, and there is a third way to attract more trade; entertainment. I was in The Dog last week, a lovely little pub on the Hagley Road. At 8.30 on Monday night we were eating a meal surrounded by empty tables. At 8.55 half the world walked in, just in time no doubt for their excellent 9 o’clock pub quiz. My only problem is I have to drive there.

However there is some good news, some pub chains are starting to see the potential. For example Punch Taverns informed me today;

“We have recruited a new lessee to run the Dingle and are hopeful to see the pub reopen by early Feb. We are also in the process of recruiting new lessees to run the Old Mill and looking at re-positioning the pub. We will be working closely with both lessees to help them build profitable sustainable businesses that serve the local community well”.

As for The Raven, it’s hard to say. Mitchell and Butler whose sign is on the door, haven’t owned it for several years. I just hope it doesn’t stay boarded up forever.

Has your local closed?

And where are the best pubs in the West Midlands?

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