Protecting the great British pub: How to save your local from closure

One hundred pubs will be given a new lease of life after receiving special protected status.

Specially chosen drinking holes in England have received the status to stop them from being closed down or prematurely sold for redevelopment.

The pubs have been given Assets of Community Value (ACV) status by local councils, meaning a pub cannot be sold off without the local community being informed first.

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Councils will be able to refuse planning applications from developers and the measure even allows the community to put in a bid to buy the pub should it go up for sale.

The measure gives the community a controlling stake in the future of their beloved local.

Brandon Lewis MP, the community pubs minister said: "We have known for hundreds of years just how valuable our locals are. Not just as a place to grab a pint but also to the economies and communities of those they serve and that is why we are doing everything we can to support and safeguard community pubs from closure."

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The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) estimates as many as 18 pubs close every week. The latest measure means if a listed pub goes up for sale the community can step in to ensure its future by either vetting planning applications or even bidding for the pub themselves.

The Rose and Crown in Slaley, Northumberland, is one drinking establishment which recently opened under community ownership in the beginning of August. The pub's future was in jeopardy after the tenants left in July last year, but local campaigners raised more than £280,000 and bought it from brewery Marston's.

CAMRA hopes the latest development will help communities realise they can have a say in what happens to their local.

Communities can apply for the ACV status themselves.

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CAMRA aims to get at least another 200 pubs listed as community assets.

Mike Benner, the group's chief executive said: "CAMRA is delighted that the Government has recognised the vital importance of pubs and empowered communities to protect them. By listing their local, communities are ensuring that if the pub is under threat in the future, there is a much-needed extra layer of protection which “stops the clock” should it be put up for sale."

As a result of the measures pubs are now the most commonly type of listed community building in the UK and among the most popular listed asset overall, second only to playing fields.



Here is a list of the 100 pubs that will be given protected status:

Admiral’s Head, Woodbridge.
The Anchor, Alresford, Hampshire.
The Angel and Harp, Great Dunmow.
The Anglers Rest, Bamford, Hope Valley.
Barrington Oak, Barrington, Ilminster.
The Bell Inn, Panfield, Essex.
Bell Public House, Great Paxton, Huntingdonshire.
The Bittern, Southampton.
The Black Bull Inn, Matfen, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
The Black Bull, Clitheroe, Lancashire.
The Black Cap, Camden, London.
The Black Horse, Arundel, West Sussex.
Blue Bell Country Inn, Alne, York.
Bluebell Inn, Saffron Walden, Essex.
The Boar's Head, Dunmow.
Bristol House Inn, Milton, Weston-Super-Mare.
The Bull, Little Hallingbury, Essex
Castle Inn, Hereford.B
The Castle, Battersea, London.
The Charity Inn, Sandwich, Kent.
The Chequers, Dunmow, Essex.
Chesham Arms, Hackney, London.
The Cricketers Arms, Saffron Walden, Essex.
Cross Keys, Upwood, Huntingdon.
The Cross Tree, Byfield, Northamptonshire.
Crown and Anchor Inn, Horsley, Northumberland.
The Crown and Thistle, Great Chesterford, Essex
The Crown Inn, Blencowe, Penrith.
The Dolphin Inn, Grampound, Cornwall.
Engineers Arms, Leiston, Suffolk.
Fairview Inn, Oxford.
Farmers Arms, Ledbury, Herefordshire.
Five Bells, Sandwich, Kent.
The Fox and Goose, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.
Fox and Hounds, Waterlooville, Hampshire.
The Fox and Hounds, Charwelton, Daventry.
The Garibaldi, Bourne End,High Wycombe.
The Gate Inn, King's Lynn, Norfolk.
George IV, Brixton, London.
The George, Little Hallingbury, Essex.
The Golden Harp, Maidenhead, West Berkshire.
The Grange, Bermondsey, London.
Hare & Hounds, Blackburn.
Holywell Inn, Holywell Green Halifax.
The Ivy House, Nunhead.
The Jolly Huntsman Inn, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
The King's Arms, King's Lynn, Norfolk.
Kings ,Blofield, Norwich.
The Kings Head, Hadstock, Cambridge.
Lamb Inn, Stoke Prior, Leominster.
March Hare Public House, Harestock, Winchester.
The Moon Inn, Mordiford, Hereford.
The New Inn, Winchelsea, East Sussex.
Nine Stiles Public House, Denham.
THe Northdown Public House, Margate, Kent.
Notley Arms, Taunton, Somerset.
Old Crown Public House, Messing, Colchester.
The Orchard Inn, Husthwaite, York.
The Packhorse, Bath.
The Perch and Pike, South Stoke, Reading.
The Peterborough Arms, Chippenham.
The Pheasant Inn, Bridgnorth.
The Pheasant, Bridgnorth, Shropshire.
Pinkuah Arms, Pentlow, Sudbury.
The Plough, Shepreth, Royston, SG8 6PP
The Plough, Great Chesterford, Essex
The Porcupine, London.
The Prince of Wales, Inworth.
The Queen Adelaide,
Croydon, Royston.
The Queen Victoria, Great Dunmow.
The Ram Public, Norwich, Norfolk.
Red Lion, Great Sampford, Essex.
Red Lion Inn, Darwen, Lancashire.
The Red Lion, St  Elstow, Bedford.
The Red Lion, Nothend.
Red Lyon, Slinfold, West Sussex.
The Retreat, Reading.
The Richmond Arms, Beacon Hill, Bath.
Rose and Crown, Bury St Edwards, Suffolk.
Rose and Crown, Hexham, Northumberland.
Rose and Crown, Saffron Walden, Essex.
The Royal George, Kington, Herefordshire.
Royal Oak Public House, Bovingdon, Herts.
Royal Oak Public House, Hail Weston, Cambridgeshire.
Shurton Inn, Bridgwater, Somerset.
Sir John Houblin, Bedlars Green, Great Hallingbury, Essex
The Suffolk Punch, Milton Keynes.
The Sun Inn, Felmersham, Bedford.
Tally Ho, Hungerford Newtown, Berkshire.
Tharp Arms Public House, Chippenham.
Three Horseshoes, Letchmore Heath, Watford.
The Three Horseshoes, Garsington, Oxford.
The Three Tuns, Royston, Herts.
The Tumbledown Dick Inn, Farnborough, Hampshire.
The Victoria, Lytham St. Annes, Fylde.
The Wheatsheaf, Hungerford.
The White Bull, Giltbrook, Nottingham.
The White Horse, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Whittington & Cat, London.
Willow Tree, Bourn, Cambridge.