In recent months six pubs across the region have been sold for use as religious buildings, claimed the city’s CAMRA members. The London Apprentice in Smethwick; Queen’s Head in Winson Green; Bordesley Green’s Samson & Lion and Ladywood’s St Vincent and Pied Piper have all been acquired by religious organisations.
One reason could be that with the huge number of pubs available on the market at the moment, they are an affordable purchase for religious groups.
Unfortunately, there are also plenty of pubs around the city that have been closed for years and sadly been allowed to go to rack and ruin.
The former Railway Inn was a popular central feature of Winson Green. Now after being left empty for many years it has been demolished to make way for a scrapyard.
The Waterloo Stores, in Lozells, has been closed for more than 10 years and is situated in a conservation area where nowadays few pubs exist.
A report by the Institute of Policy Research, entitled Pubs and Places: The Social Value of Community Pubs asked why pubs matter.
It stated that the pub, as well as being one of the UK’s oldest and most popular institutions, plays a role at the heart of a community and is an essential conduit in local life.
Nigel Barker, spokesman for CAMRA in Birmingham, said: “A pub is little more than a building without the experiences and memories of the people that actually used them.
“The Government itself has stated that every village, town or neighbourhood should be home to businesses or buildings that play a vital role in the community.
“Surely that’s what David Cameron’s Big Society is all about?”
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AVERAGE PRICE OF A PINT IN THE UK
1981 57p
1991 £1.40
2001 £2.04
2011 £3.06+
