The Campaign for Real Ale has called on the government to rethink plans to weaken protections for pubs in the English planning system, stating the move would “spell the end for thousands of viable pubs.”

Current rules oblige local authorities to protect pub buildings as community assets, however a new consultation from The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is proposing to do away with the requirement.

“We strongly object to these plans which could spell the end for thousands of viable pubs across England,” said CAMRA’s national planning policy advisor Paul Ainsworth. “Strong planning protections are needed to give local people the right to try to save their pub if it is under threat of demolition or conversion.”

“Crucially, this must apply to all pubs so that communities can save their local even if there are other pubs in the same area.” 

Under the Government’s new plans, protections would only apply if a pub were the last one locally, however Ainsworth argued that “without protections for every pub, we risk seeing greedy developers cash in and try to turn pub buildings into other uses like houses, shops or takeaways. This would be devastating for communities who would lose a vital part of their social fabric.”