Heritage Public Houses Bill
Debate between Lizzi Collinge and Markus Campbell-Savours
Markus Campbell-Savours
I will. The Government are hopefully hearing the message that, if there are intentions to open any funds, we sometimes need seed money to develop business cases and feasibility studies, because that is an important part of the process.
The concerns I have raised have also been highlighted by CAMRA, which has welcomed stronger community acquisition rights while warning that their effectiveness is reduced in the absence of replacement funding following the closure of the community ownership fund. The experience of the people of Ireby demonstrates precisely that point. The obstacle they have encountered is not a lack of commitment, a lack of organisation, a lack of local support or even a lack of a mechanism by which to do it. The obstacle has been uncertainty around access to capital.
If Parliament is prepared to introduce a 12-month moratorium on the sale of heritage public houses, Parliament should also consider how communities are expected to use that opportunity in practice. Time alone does not buy a pub. A right to buy does not buy a pub. Financing buys a pub. I therefore ask Ministers to look again at support for community acquisition of pubs and other vital rural assets. As the Government continue the implementation of the community right to buy, how do they intend to ensure that communities have access to the finance required to exercise those new rights?
Lizzi Collinge
I draw my hon. Friend’s attention to what has been done in the village of Dent in my constituency, where the community has come together with a community shares approach. The point he is making about the scale of finance needed to buy community assets is really important, and I would like to see the Government provide more support, but there have been some really innovative models across the country, and I would welcome his comments on those.
Markus Campbell-Savours
As I have already commented, the community in Ireby did a community share offer and have been through that process. Having gone through that process, it made it all the more disappointing that they were unable to access any additional money. But they keep fighting on—and will keep fighting on until they have secured what they need.
For isolated rural communities, those pubs are not luxuries; they are infrastructure. At a time when bus services are disappearing in rural areas, village amenities continue to decline and opportunities for social interaction are becoming increasingly limited, the local pub can be among the last remaining public spaces that bind the community together.
The people of Ireby have done everything that could reasonably be expected of them: they organised, volunteered, raised the money, built a plan and secured community support. My question to the Minister at the end of my boring speech, if it has not been clear, is, “What comes next?” If we are serious about helping communities save heritage pubs—or any pub—we cannot simply give them more time. We should also ensure that they have a realistic opportunity and funding to succeed.