Beer we go! Is it last orders for our traditional local boozer?
IT is an area where pubs were once the beating heart of the community.
But now there isn’t a single boozer for its 7,000 residents.
Welcome to Brinnington, a part of Stockport where the troubles faced by the pub industry are on stark display.
The area is the type of close knit, working-class district where the local was once the bastion of socialising, but its last pub shut 18 months ago.
And across Greater Manchester, time is being called ever more loudly for the pub trade.
Cheap supermarket booze, business rates, and changing tastes have taken their toll on the traditional British boozer.
And it’s all combined with another fact, us Brits are drinking less. Six years ago there were 1,740 pubs and bars across Greater Manchester. Since then there has been a net loss of 245 venues - a fall of nearly 14 per cent, more than the national decline of 11pc.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics in May revealed the proportion of adults who regularly drink alcohol is at its lowest ever level.
Some landlords are trying to move with the times - but say they are now competing not just with other pubs but for people’s leisure time.
Back in Brinnington, residents are still licking their wounds after a hard-fought but unsuccessful campaign to save the last pub, The Jack and Jill. When the licensees left, its owners Robinsons decided the business was no longer viable.
Residents had tried to save the venue following the closure of The Farmer’s Arms, Cheshire Cat and Horsfield Arms. But a planning application has now been approved to knock it down and build 10 new homes.
Stockport has lost almost a third of its pubs (210 to 150) over the last six years.
Chris Murphy, a local councillor who has lived in Brinnington all his life, says the area has now had to find a new focal point.
He said: “A constant stream of people used to go in the Jack and Jill all the time but habits have changed, with people being more health conscious and young people tending to drink before they go out.
“Pubs used to be the focal point of the community where you met your mates and there were football, pool, darts and cricket teams.
“It is unfortunate and a sad loss but a lot of things have come about that have affected pubs. The trade is being priced out by the breweries, there’s rates and the smoking ban. People have said there are no pubs but if they were still being used enough they would still be there. It is changing habits and costs, they become prohibitive particularly in areas like Brinnington.”
Residents who signed the Jack and Jill petition included Katy Renshaw, who said: “The community of Brinnington is losing everything that makes us a community. We will soon have no community left for when our children grow up.
“The Jack and Jill was the heart of the community for almost everyone that lives here.”
Resident John Stead, also from Brinnington, added: “It’s a shame as it’s going to rip the heart out of this community.”
This is a situation repeated across Greater Manchester.
Of all its boroughs only Manchester itself, led by popular destinations such as the Northern Quarter, has seen the number of pubs and bars increase (by five per cent) in the last six years.
But in other areas - Tameside (26 per cent), Bolton (21pc), Rochdale (18pc), Oldham (18pc) and Wigan (17pc) there have also suffered substantial falls.
And it could get worse before it gets better as a change in the way business rates are calculated came into force this year. Simon Delaney, 52, licensee at the Firbank, Wythenshawe, said: “This came in from April and means it is worked out on turnover rather than profit.
“For example, there may be two pubs with a turnover of a million but one has a profit on £10,000, the other £500,000. Both pay the same. We are now seeing the first wave of closures from this.” Wythenshawe, like Brinnington, is an area where rising prices may be felt more keenly by customers, but the Firbank is thriving and last year was named Best Community Pub at the Great British Pub Awards. Simon has been licensee since 1995 and has seen huge changes in the industry. He said: “The industry is in decline but a lot that have closed it is their own fault for not diversifying and moving with the times. “For example, we were against the smoking ban but you need to deal with it and we made a nice outside area where people can have a cigarette. “Time was we would never have dreamed of introducing coffee but we did. It is no longer the 1990s where you can just open your doors and people will come in and drink. “Now we are competing with multiplexes where there are all sorts of entertainment, and bars like the Alchemist in Manchester. We have to do something about it. “We are now reaching out to the 18-30 market as they will be our customers for the next 20-30 years. “You have to find out what they want and replicate that on their doorstep so they want to save a taxi fare into Manchester. “A community pub doesn’t have
Pubs used to be the focal point of the community where you met your mates Chris Murphy, local councillor
Real ale is taking off and will do even more. In the next 10 years pubs will be back Manager of The Star Inn Paul McVay
to mean a rundown one on a back street. You have to have a drinks offering that is on trend, for example gins at the moment.
“There is cheap booze in supermarkets but that’s not to say we can’t compete. You may buy a can for 50p there but you can’t get served at your table in a nicely presented glass while watching Sky Sports for free.
“Value for money doesn’t have to mean cheap, little things make a difference.”
The ‘cheap and cheerful’ approach with food and drink is one favoured by Wetherspoons, but even this pub giant is feeling the pinch.
Perhaps a reflection of the difficulties faced in Tameside is the company’s Cotton Bale pub, on Hyde Market Place, shut on July 16 after bosses decided it was no longer profitable.
But a short distance away in Gee Cross is the Buxton Inn, on Mottram Old Road and by happy coincidence run by Barbara and Andrew Buxton.
They took over in 2015 after the pub had a run of four licensees in five years and say the trick is balancing ‘locals’ custom with a family and food offering.
To this end the Buxton Inn is possibly the only pub in the area where you can see drinkers figuring out how to chequemate each other.
Barbara, 60, said: “What you do with your interior is really important. I am an avid reader and I love chess, when families come into a pub sometimes there is nothing for the children to do but we have books and chess sets set up.
“There’s also Jenga and snakes and ladders, you have to do something for everyone and have a welcoming atmosphere where you know all the locals’ names.
“The low cost of beer in supermarkets is a problem so having good food is an important way to get people to come in with their families but you also need a differing offer for the locals and cater for all people.
“There are challenges, every second pub on the high street is gone.”
One trend that sprang up in response to pubs closing was the creation of a co-operative where residents clubbed together to buy their local.
And while it saved a much-loved pub in the immediate term, long term it was a different matter. The Star Inn, on Back Hope Street, Higher Broughton, became the first in Britain to go down this route in 2010. But by the end of 2016 it was again facing closure as community goodwill alone could not keep the pub thriving.
Paul McVay, 39, was brought in as manager to turn the place around in November with less than a month to save it from closure. He now sees a bright future for the Star, and other pubs.
He said: “This pub was struggling and it needed properly managing.
“You have to keep the community happy and give them something to get off their sofas for. There are ways to turn things round. Real ale is taking off and will do even more. In the next 10 years pubs will be back.
“You can revive pubs, but you need a proper plan. We ripped everything out and changed it all. It is nice having a 160-year-old pub but you need to bring it forward by mixing old and new.”
The British Beer and Pub Association, which speaks for breweries and pub companies, says business rates are crippling its members.
A spokesman said: “Pubs are being inordinately squeezed by business rates on a level that is not matched in other sectors.
“The businesses that contribute so much economically and socially, and which have helped to regenerate high streets, are in danger of being forced out of business by a system that does not work.” But what of the future? The answer probably lies somewhere in between with reasons for concern and optimism. Jim Flynn, from the South Manchester branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said: “We are very disappointed at the number of closures, we think it is down to social changes but also the behaviour of the pub companies. The price of beer is going up so people are drinking at home more. “There are some positive fruits with micropubs, particularly around south Manchester, and I think that is part of the future. “I hope there is still a place for the traditional pubs and I suspect the period of mass closures has come to an end in most areas. The micropub niches will continue to grow but the traditional pub will be under pressure for some time.”