An MP's view of the pub trade...

North Devon MP Nick Harvey (who is my MP), is deputy chairman of the all-party parliamentary beer group. He told the North Devon Journal: “I am acutely aware that these are difficult times for the beer and pub trade. Most recently I and my colleagues have been lobbying the Government, with Early Day Motion 2159, protesting at the detrimental effect of supermarket alcohol prices.

“Pubs are closing at an alarming rate of five a day, compared with three a day last year, four a week the year before and two a week the year before that.

"Barnstaple is no exception to this trend with the recent closure of several longstanding establishments in Boutport Street and elsewhere.

“Tax hikes combined with the ban on smoking in public places and supermarkets selling beer as a significant lost leader, to the extent that it is cheaper than bottled water, have all had a negative impact on a struggling industry.

“While pubs have served a historic role, off-trade has always existed alongside, providing consumer freedom of choice. However, economically off-trade, thanks to the supermarkets, is now clearly a serious challenge with an annual turn over of about £13bn almost matching pub sales.

“I and the APBG will keep pressing the Treasury, Department of Communities and Local Government and Health regarding alcohol duty being a blunt instrument to deal with binge-drinking (the real target being supermarkets selling alcohol below cost price), the positive value of pubs to our communities and the need for regulation and licensing not to be so burdensome as to push yet more pubs out of business.”

There are 57,000 pubs and bars in the UK, contributing £18 billion to the economy and employing 650,000 people. The Business and Enterprise Committee is currently holding a new enquiry into the role of pub companies (the last was conducted in 2004), with submissions closing at the end of September.

According to Mr Harvey, the pub companies have failed to adopt previous recommendations that rents should be sustainable, tied tenants should not be worse off and that the upward-only rent reviews and gaming machine tie must cease.

The British Beer and Pub Association reported this week that beer sales between July and September fell by 7.2% compared to the same period in 2007.

Beer sales in pubs dropped 8.1% and sales in supermarkets fell 6%. BBPA chief executive Rob Hayward said: “Sinking beer sales and the record five pubs a day closing is a barometer of the UK economic climate. But any prudent diagnosis would also identify the specific impact of the budget’s 9% beer tax increase.”

This story appeared at the same time:

By Adam Wilshaw

GOOD local pubs which sell quality ale and decent food in a friendly environment will thrive despite the recession, according to a North Devon campaigner.

North Devon Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) member Terry Burrows said some pubs in the area were closing or bereft of custom, but the pubs he cherished most were popular and relatively profitable.

There are fears the traditional English local pub is facing an uncertain future, because of cultural and economic changes. Mr Burrows was one of a number of pub-goers, landlords, and brewery firms the Journal spoke to this week about the health of the pub trade in North Devon and Torridge.

Recent warnings about any widespread demise of our local pubs seem premature, given the responses we received. It can also be difficult to establish precisely why a pub closed: Was it because the rent was too high? Too few drinkers? Beer too expensive? No food? Too much food? No “smoking garden”?

Drinkers lured away by cheap supermarket beer? But there is little doubt our boozers are facing a number of problems, and the industry is having to work hard to entice in customers. North Devon MP Nick Harvey (Lib Dem) and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox (Conservative) have both attacked the Government for increasing beer duty, for example.

Mr Burrows said: “From our experience, the good pubs, that offer what the community wants and are involved in the community, are thriving. It’s not all doom and gloom.” He said ever-increasing beer tax and cheap alcohol in supermarkets were harming our pubs. In addition, pubs which could not offer a smoking area were struggling to keep customers.

On the other hand, sales of cask ale continue to increase year-on-year. Pub landlords and landladies reported a mixed picture.

Jeff Sweet, from the Tavern in Diamond Street, Barnstaple, said his business was still busy at weekends with loyal regulars. And the landlord of a larger Barnstaple pub, who did not want to be named, said pubs had to increasingly offer “added extras”, such as live music, or they would go under. He too said many drinkers seemed to be switching to spirits which are, by alcohol volume, cheaper than ale.

Chris Franks, who sells beer wholesale from 37 independent breweries to pubs around North Devon and beyond, said: “Nothing has changed an awful lot, the ones who put effort in are doing all right, but no one is making a lot of money.” He also pointed out that North Devon and Torridge have a number of excellent breweries, including Country Life in Abbotsham and Barum in Barnstaple.

But Debbie Furnifer, landlady of popular local hostelry Marshalls, in Boutport Street, Barnstaple, said the pub had been quieter than usual in recent months. “I think people are scared to spend their money,” she said. “The regulars are still coming in.”

Few pubs are freehold businesses; the majority are owned by larger firms who lease the premises. Punch Taverns, which has a number of pubs in the area, said it was “passionate about safeguarding the future of the great British pub”. A spokesman told the Journal: “Pubs across the country face a challenging trading environment but we continue to work closely with our licensees in North Devon and across the country to help them find new ways of improving their business, developing their retail proposition and financial stability. This ranges from identifying new or improved food offers to developing other areas of their products, offers or service. Punch also has an industry leading support and training programme for licensees.

“Within our leased estate we have some great examples of pubs that have introduced new facilities, such as Post Office counters, which help them to become focal points of the communities they serve. The North Devonshire area has a small conurbation with limited road access and seasonal trade.

"The pubs have to continually strive to be the best they can be to attract customers and keep them coming back. Offering value for money and having an offer that suits the needs of the local market place is key to success. We have some fantastic outlets in the area which are really bucking the economic trend. The London Inn, Braunton, and the Rock Inn, Georgeham, both have great licensees at the helm who have developed an offer that is just right for their local market place. They consistently deliver excellent levels of customer service and are highly successful as a result.”

But some of the people pulling the pints were less optimistic.

Lee Sycamore, landlord of the Old Market Inn in Holsworthy, said: “With high street spending at its lowest for years, pubs closing down at a rate of five a day, and beer sales for the period of July to September down by 7%, a very grey picture has been drawn over the licensed trade. “The credit crunch has seemed to have hit us all. Speaking for ourselves, as a freehold pub, the trend on most sales seem to be up on last year so far. Beer and food sales have increased significantly, however wines and spirits have fallen dramatically.

"I can only put this down to customers being less extravagant at the end of the evening by cutting out on that last night cap, and saving a small amount by not having a bottle of wine with their meal, just one glass instead.”

But he said next year “could be worse than ever”.

He added: “Calls have gone out to the Government not to put the normal taxation on beers, wines and spirits next year in their budget. A public house is a vital hub for communities through both good and bad times.”

Arthur Scrine, landlord of the Patch and Parrot in Cooper Street, Bideford, said: “We have the same old crowd in here. We’ve got all the golden oldies and the credit crunch has not affected them coming in. The price of beer may have gone up, but we are still the cheapest pub in Bideford.”

Mark Birch has been the landlord of the Black Venus Inn, in Challacombe, on Exmoor, for the past four years and believes the current economic downturn had not had much effect on trade, although he had a stark warning.

He said: “It’s about a level par to last year although there are definitely not as many tourists around. People still have the same money to spend but they are just being a bit more careful with it.

"I don’t think the increase in beer duty will affect us at the moment but, if the Government insists on maintaining the current 4% levy, I think it will kill off the industry.”

Jon Hutchings, from the White Hart hotel in Holsworthy, said: “Generally the pub trade is down however I feel its all about innovation. What with the smoking ban last year and with cut price alcohol sales in supermarkets we are in a difficult time. “Late night weekend trade is down however it is also picking up again but this is due to new ideas and promoting events at weekends such as live music and DJs.

“We are at a time where you cannot expect business to just walk in the door. You have to go that little bit further to entice the customers in. Our food trade is on the up with particular attention focusing on local produce.”

YIKEAROONIES!

Yikearoonies!

Have you ever seen a big woman fall

off a bar stool?

Watching The Heavens Unfold In The Pub Section As The Future Looks On

Sometimes a pub visit creates a venn diagram of glee, sensation, and nostalgia.

The circle of glee in the diagram comes from your companions and the beer while the circle of sensations are the slow warmth of the alcohol in your blood and the brace of farmfield air when you step outside.

The final circle, of nostalgia, is the thought of the merry drinkers who are now gone, who argued at your ear or at ears like yours, and the afternoons and evenings you have spent ignoring the stale inhuman defeats of money, mortgages and DIY by tilting your hat at the good life.

The glee, sensation and nostalgia circles intersect at The Pub Section. In the Pub Section I found the Chichester Arms in Bishops Tawton, a pub so determined to thrive that it was born again, nine months after a devastating fire in 2005.

I arrived one midweek evening with my wife and baby just as autumn was starting to blow cool through the North Devon countryside. The Chich, as it is popularly known locally to generations of fans, is a dining pub but it has not destroyed its pub DNA in pursuit of the Hungry Belly Pound. It has kept the cosy chaos of all lovely country pubs without being cloyingly twee or phoney.

Indeed, there was some controlled chaos in the kitchen when we arrived; a key player, the chef, I think, was unexpectedly unavailable. But the barman stayed friendly.

I drank two fine pints of Exmoor Ale, as crisp as the dew forming on the hills and I ate a beefburger, regular readers will be astonished to hear. It was superb beef, and was well-cooked, but needed a bit of seasoning.

I took the last few mouthfuls of my final Exmoor Ale outside to look at the stars and the waxing moon, and to inhale some of the frosty nostalgia.

There were few constellations on show, but I saw Cassiopeia and the north star. Cassiopeia was named after the Greek mythological wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, you know; she was sent to the heavens because she bragged about her beauty, hardly a punishment for any crime, including honesty. I managed to find the moon too, without looking at a book. You could spend an hour in a beer garden in the twilight, thinking of venn diagrams, and how many bits of life fit in circles, and go quietly insane.

I had my baby boy in one arm, his eyes like mirrors inside his woolly hood, while his mother finished her dinner in rare peace inside. An almost mythical experience.

My boy was too young for a sip of my beer, although he was "baptised" with ale in his first week of life, and I didn't want to share the magic stuff anyway. But he was not too green, I hoped, to absorb the sense of the dark countryside just out of sight. I was so fixed in the Pub Section, being watched by the future.

THE CHICHESTER ARMS, BISHOPS TAWTON, NORTH DEVON

ADAM'S ALE RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

DRINK THIS: EXMOOR ALE

A perverse turn of events in Cornwall

You know how it is early in the evening in a trendy Cornish fishing village, streets lined with tempting quality restaurants, when you go with a scratchy-tired baby and arrive at the Shipwright public house instead?

Looking back the choice seems perverse, I don't know, maybe even perverted.

We should have fled when we saw the menu. Menus on laminated place mats are rarely an indication of imaginative, careful, dining on the horizon.

But as my travels so far have revealed, the quality of food on offer in a pub is not necessarily on a par with the quality of the beer, and so it proved at the Shipwright where I drank a pleasant pint of Doom Bar.

Doom Bar is one of the best beer names in the world; it also has unintended resonance in certain situations.

The pub, in St Ives, was selling itself as a place to eat with large signs inviting in the unwary, and the perverse, and it had big plastic menus on the tables, so it is only fair to judge it by its food too.

As I looked at my big plastic menu, I was ignored by all staff, whose only task in relation to food, it seemed, was to put numbers in a till and take your money (you could go and bugger off, for all they cared, was the impression I got), I chewed on this question: why is buying a plate of food such a problem in our pubs?

Surely this is a simple enough transaction: I pay you £8 for a burger and chips and you provide that advertised food, and here's the crucial bit, in a form which is undisgusting. Seems simple to me! In fact, I didn't go to chef university, but I serve tasty, cheap-ish food at home most nights of the week. But the cack I have been presented with pubs in the UK I would not serve to my family. They would think I had gone up the pole.

The reason, I suspect, that pubs, like the Shipwright, serve up such dismal grub is because they are far removed from the basics of kitchen life and the pleasures of cooking. The idea for the plastic menus, for instance, and the boring food, was probably farted out by a frownsome middle manager in an office at 3pm one bleak Wednesday, one dreak March day.

So this is the meat of the matter: my burger was tasteless, gristly, cheap and soggy. The bun that contained the flesh was sodden with the water used to wash the tasteless heap of salad by its side. The handful of chips were lifeless, tasteless, and, in fact, virtually pointless. My wife's 'prawn salad' was in fact five battered prawns and a bit of tasteless lettuce and two tasteless factory tomatoes. It was, all told, a disgraceful way to accompany a good pint of beer in a fairly unspoiled public house by a busy little harbour.

So much for that. It's not the end of the bleeding world, I hear you rumble. Indeed not.

But why go on about it? Why whinge? Well, with good reason, my friends, with good reason. Our pubs face terrible peril. They are going bust. I want the good ones to prosper. Some will prosper by selling good food, and if they can't manage that, and it takes effort and money to serve food well, then sticking to good old crisps, nuts and scratchings.

Maybe a sandwich.

Maybe a pickled egg. On festival days.

Please go to the North Country Inn (an incantation)

I can't expect you to respond,

But please go to the North Country Inn.

The pub has solid walls and wooden window frames.

Please go to the North Country Inn.

The staff are friendly and the beer is in a cask, if you want it.

Please go to the North Country Inn.

I ate a cheeseburger there - and chips.

Please go to the North Country Inn.

The cheeseburger was good and better than the mean filth served up in those fast food places that make so much money; you know: lifeless formica hellpits copied from US suburbs, where it's always sunny, at least in the movies, not like here.

Please go to the North Country Inn, instead.

I can't expect you to comply,

But please go to the North Country Inn.

The furniture is pubby, not trendy trash from retail sheds, without history and memories of drink digressions and nicotine.

Please go to the North Country Inn.

You won't feel like a cog in a businessman's feeding game.

Not at the North Country Inn.

In a world of plastic windowframes, there is hope.

In a world of designer bars half-designed badly by bad half-blind maniacs,

I can't expect you to respond.

Please go to the North Country Inn.

THE NORTH COUNTRY INN, MERMAID WALK, BARNSTAPLE

ADAM'S ALE RATING: 3 OUT OF 5

DRINK THIS: OTTER ALE

Hermit hoar, in solemn cell

Hermit hoar, in solemn cell,

Wearing out life's evening gray;

Strike thy bosom, Sage! and tell

What is bliss, and which the way?

Thus I spoke, and speaking sigh'd,

Scarce repress'd the starting tear,

When the hoary Sage replied,

"Come, my lad, and drink some beer."

Samuel Johnson

A fascinating story from the Journal this week...

THREE-quarters of Britain’s pub landlords believe the smoking ban has been bad for a business, according to a new survey.

Figures released by the industry show 74% of licensees surveyed reported the ban was bad for business. Some 47% have laid off staff as a direct result. But when the North Devon Journal asked licensees in North Devon the picture seemed to be mixed.

Caroline McAuley, who works at The Crown in Lynton said: “It hasn’t really affected us as we have quite a good outside area and covered area with heaters. Generally we have been quite lucky — and there are quite a lot of smokers in Lynton — it’s quite a smoky village.”

And at The George and Dragon in Fore Street, Ilfracombe, staff also feel that the ban hasn’t made much of a difference. Staff member Rosie Beecham said: “The same people still come in and we are a food-orientated pub — so maybe people prefer that there is no smoking. I’ve still got my job.”

At the Pack O’ Cards in Combe Martin landlady Debbie Batchelor said: “I can honestly say it hasn’t affected us much. We have a nice smoking area – and sometimes that’s busier than the pub, with more people outside than in here. But the government saying the smoking ban would bring more people out to the pubs is a load of baloney. There are no more people coming out than there ever were before.”

Shaun Musto, landlord of the Earl of Portsmouth in Chawleigh, has seen no effect since the ban came in. He said: “I don’t think smokers avoid coming to the pub because they can’t smoke. I think they’ve all just got used to it. This is a family-run pub so we’ve not had to lay off any staff and it hasn’t affected our profits in any way. I’m a smoker myself and I used to smoke around 15 a day. However, since the ban came in I’ve cut down to about three per night.”

Pete Robertson, landlord of the Clinton Arms in Frithelstock, only has one local who is a smoker. He said: “The ban hasn’t affected us in the slightest as we have always been a country pub that relies heavily on food, which is 75% of our income, to survive. However, a lot of pubs in the area have been affected and have closed down. Some drinking pubs in the area have been killed by the ban. Others are trying to become food pubs, have been employing new chefs and it has cost them. We have not really seen an increase in non-smokers. There have been niggles from a few people about the ban but others have said it is nice to come in.”

Dave Sawyer, landlord of the Black Horse in Torrington, does not feel the smoking ban has affected his trade. He said: “It does make it nicer for non-smokers who come here to eat. Before the ban people would come in and take one sniff and walk out again. About 25% of our regulars are smokers and they just go outside — we haven’t had anyone moaning about it. Our food itself has increased, so that could be more non-smokers coming in. But as far as I can make out we haven’t lost any of our customers because of the ban.”

Lisa Harley, manager of The Corner House in Barnstaple, agreed that the smoking ban had been bad for business. She said: “Most certainly it has affected the pub trade. Anybody would be lying to say it has not.” She said it had also had an impact on team nights because players had to go outside to smoke and it would hold up the game.

Jon Hutchings, landlord of the White Hart Hotel in Holsworthy, said: “It feels like the government is trying to get rid of community pubs. The smoking ban killed a lot of the real drinkers and if you don’t have an outdoor area like us as we are a town centre pub, it causes real problems. This is why we took part in the Proud of Pubs week to raise all these issues with our MP.” Lee Sycamore, landlord of the Olde Market Inn in Holsworthy, said: “Since the smoking ban, pubs have benefited from cleaner air and a healthier atmosphere, however, it has caused more problems than benefits.

“Some 24 pubs a week are closing nationally, and a large proportion of these have been credited to the smoking ban. Many pubs are unable to take necessary measures to accommodate the ruling, leading to no Smoking Areas for their patrons.

“The influx of non-smokers that the government promised has not happened, so most licensed premises have suffered a downturn in business. Saying this a small percentage of pubs have seen an upturn in trade, but this is due to hard work and great expense to try and cater for everyone.

“Good food and good beers at reasonable prices counts for quite a bit, but also outside areas for smoking, drinking and dinning. Social areas for people to meet up and have a quite chat, as well as other usual pub activities."

Lisa Horforth, landlady of The Windsor Arms, Bradiford, said the smoking ban had hit everyone “big time”. In particular they have lost their afternoon trade at the weekend because customers can no longer smoke inside while playing cards. And the new smoke-free atmosphere hasn’t gained them any new customers either.

Lucy Vane, landlady from the Appledore Inn in Bideford, said business has been affected but not dramatically. She said: “We have got a courtyard here that is used, so we are lucky. Most of our regulars are smokers and we have had to cut back on staff, but not by a lot.

“Some people just won’t come into pubs now because of the smoking ban, they just refuse. We don’t have any more non-smokers come into the pub and those who do and go outside and eat tend to moan because everyone in the courtyard is smoking around them. I don’t think it is all the smoking ban though, the credit crunch has also affected business, people are hard up at the moment and the price of beer has gone up and will do again because the breweries have just put their prices up.”

Graham Stone landlord of The Beaver Inn in Appledore believes that only 10% of his customers are smokers, but the ban has still had an effect. He said: “We do quite a bit of food here and that has deflected some of the problems of the smoking ban, but there has been a downturn in bar trade, although this hasn’t necessarily been compensated by the food sales.

“We introduced non-smoking to our restaurant a number of years before the ban came in and although some people moaned we felt the positive outweighed the negatives. We also invested quite heavily in air conditioning and ventilation and the investments were worthwhile at the time, but not required anymore. We haven’t had a noticeable increase in non-smokers coming in, but it is hard to compare with the weather.

"Although we haven’t had to get rid of staff yet, we are concerned for the winter. People have also been affected by the economy and with the silly prices the supermarket sell alcohol for. Some smokers are not going to come out on a wet day. Personally as a non-smoker I thought it wasn’t right to enforce this on public houses. I haven’t noticed any improvements in the atmosphere because of it, but perhaps there are health benefits to my staff and costumers.”

Paul Breese, landlord of the Tiverton Inn, South Molton, has also noticed a difference since the ban came in to force in 2007. He said it was now down to landlords to think on their feet. “The Wetherspoons chain is the best example of this. It’s gone from being the biggest wet sales pub in the country to increasing its food sales. Only a third of its business is drink now, whereas 12 to 18 months ago it was 75% of the business.” Mr Breese is also the landlord of the Snare and Gin Trap at Bishops Nympton and the Castle Inn at George Nympton. Although he was concerned for both, he said they have weathered the effects of the ban well. He said: “There’s no smoking shelter at the Snare and Gin Trap. People who want to smoke have to go outside with a brolly.”

This had led to him selling electronic cigarettes so people can get their nicotine hits that way. In the last three weeks he has sold 10 at the Tiverton Inn. Barbara Butcher, landlady of the Mitre Hotel in Witheridge, has definitely noticed a change behind the bar. She said: “Some people just don’t come to the pub anymore. We don’t have a covered area for smokers to shelter under so when they go out for a cigarette, come rain and wind, they have to brave the elements. I think it’s a combination of factors as well as the smoking ban. The weather hasn’t helped and what with the rising cost of alcohol and people having less money in their pockets, people just aren’t venturing out as much. Our bar takings are definitely down and if we didn’t have our food and bed and breakfast trade to rely on, we’d certainly be in trouble.”

Jane Morton, at the Coaching Inn, South Molton, said she could not decide if the smoking ban was a bad thing. She said trade at the pub and hotel has been stable although the clientele has changed. “We’ve had an increase in non-smokers using it. But we’ve been affected in other ways. We’re very much a food-led pub. Where people would stay for a cigarette and a dessert, they’re now going home so they can smoke. It’s a shorter dining experience. An after dinner coffee would often lead to another drink or two.”

But Ms Morton, who is in the process of buying the pub with her sister, said blaming the smoking ban on a lack of trade was perhaps too simplistic. “Our regular smokers, who might have come out on a Saturday night, are more likely to stay away. But cheap alcohol from supermarkets is also having a huge effect. In our case the core trade is holding firm.”

Ady Taylor, landlord of the Tally Ho! in Hatherleigh, said: “At the moment we are doing fine. We found it difficult in January/February time as although it usually goes quiet at that time of year, it was worse than usual — maybe because it was the first winter after the ban. But, strangely enough, we have done well throughout the summer and there has been no major drop in trade.

“We have a very smart smoking shelter at the back of the pub which we installed and it has made a difference. If we didn’t have it, we would not have half the people in the pub that we do. There are tough times ahead for everyone and the smoking ban has not helped. There is also the duty on beer and the rise in electricity which all contributes, but I am optimistic. We are lucky as we are quite stable and our food is doing well.”