Pubs To Gain Extra Planning Protection From Conversion, Rayner Set To Announce
All pubs in England are to be given fresh protection against being converted into housing or offices, under planning reforms due to be unveiled by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner this week.
The changes form part of a revised National Planning Policy Framework, which ministers say is intended to further streamline the planning system in support of the government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes over the course of this Parliament.
Ministers had originally been consulting on protections that would apply only to the last remaining pub in a given area, shielding it from being lost to residential or commercial redevelopment. However, hospitality groups warned that such a narrow approach risked leaving thousands of other viable pubs exposed to closure and conversion.
In response, the government has confirmed the protection will now extend to any pub facing the prospect of change of use, not just those classed as the sole surviving pub in their community.
Rising closures behind the move
The reform comes amid continued concern over the pace of pub closures across England. Figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) show that 794 pubs have shut their doors so far this year, with 82 of those either demolished or converted to alternative uses.
Operators across the pub and restaurant sector have pointed to a combination of pressures behind the closures, including higher employer National Insurance contributions, the increase in the minimum wage, elevated food costs, and the ongoing burden of business rates.
Under the strengthened framework, developers seeking to convert or demolish a pub will need to demonstrate that there is no realistic prospect of the site continuing to operate as a pub. This is expected to include evidence that the property has been actively marketed for sale as a going concern for a minimum of 12 months.
Local authorities will also be required to weigh up the wider social value of a pub when assessing planning applications, including its role as a community gathering space, before granting permission for it to be lost.
Announcing the change, Rayner said pubs hold a distinctive place in national life, describing them as spaces where communities mark both celebration and loss, and said it was wrong that inadequate safeguards had allowed so many to close without a proper challenge.
She said the new rules would force developers to demonstrate that every avenue to keep a pub open had been explored before demolition could even be considered, adding that the drive to build new homes should not come “at the cost of the pubs we love.”
The move follows sustained campaigning from CAMRA, which had previously cautioned that restricting protection to only the last pub standing in an area could put “thousands of viable pubs across England” at risk.
The campaign group has argued that meaningful planning protection needs to apply broadly, giving communities the ability to fight to save a valued local pub even where other pubs remain nearby, rather than only in cases where a closure would leave an area without any pub at all.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association said: “We welcome the Government’s move to strengthen protections for 30,000 pubs. These businesses are vital cultural and community assets and absolutely deserve to be protected.
“But pubs do not exist in isolation. They are part of a much broader hospitality and night time economy ecosystem of around 90,000 businesses.
“That leaves approximately 60,000 businesses, including nightclubs, grassroots music venues, bars, restaurants and other night time economy operators, asking a very simple question: what about us?
“These businesses face many of the same pressures and, understandably, increasingly feel unheard and set aside by Government policy.
“Nightclubs alone have seen a 36% contraction in the market. This is not because people have suddenly stopped wanting to go out, dance, socialise or experience live music. The cost of day to day living has fundamentally impacted people’s ability to afford those experiences.
“Protecting 30,000 pubs is absolutely the right thing to do. But Government must now recognise and protect the other 60,000 businesses that make up this vital economic and cultural ecosystem.”