Agenda item

Community Pubs

It was moved by Councillor Colin Ross, seconded by Councillor David Baker, that this Council:-

(a)       welcomes news that the New York Times named Sheffield the beer capital of Britain;

(b)       recognises the important role local pubs play in the life of our city by providing a community hub for residents to meet, relax, debate and do business;

(c)        regrets the decline of community pubs in recent years and notes that in the past three years fifteen planning applications have been granted to change the use of local pubs;

(d)       supports campaigns led by Greg Mulholland MP and The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to reverse this decline and put local pubs back at the heart of our communities;

(e)       endorses Government proposals to introduce a code of practice, which would contain mandatory rules for all pub companies owning more than 500 pubs, and an independent adjudicator with the power to investigate and settle disputes; and

(f)        however, also calls on the Administration to support local pubs by:

(i)         supporting community groups who wish to register their local pubs as assets of community value; and

(ii)        amending local planning policies to stipulate that no pub will be allowed to change use unless it is demonstrated that continued trading is not economically viable and that the premises has been marketed as a pub unsuccessfully for a stipulated minimum period.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Gill Furniss, seconded by Councillor Julie Dore, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.        the deletion in paragraph (d) of the words “led by Greg Mulholland MP” and their substitution by the words “by members of all parties”;

2.        the addition of the words “, after pressure from Toby Perkins MP,” after the words “Government proposals” in paragraph (e); and

3.        the deletion of paragraph (f) and the addition of new paragraphs (f) and (g) as follows:-

(f)        regrets that changes directly implemented by the Coalition Government to General Permitted Development Orders have made it easier for pubs to be converted to small supermarkets without the need for planning permission at all and opposes these Government changes; and

(g)       confirms that the issue of creating a retention of community facilities policy and requiring applicants to demonstrate the lack of economic viability of a pub will be considered as part of the development of the Local Plan.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       welcomes news that the New York Times named Sheffield the beer capital of Britain;

(b)       recognises the important role local pubs play in the life of our city by providing a community hub for residents to meet, relax, debate and do business;

(c)       regrets the decline of community pubs in recent years and notes that in the past three years fifteen planning applications have been granted to change the use of local pubs;

(d)       supports campaigns by members of all parties and The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to reverse this decline and put local pubs back at the heart of our communities;

(e)       endorses Government proposals, after pressure from Toby Perkins MP, to introduce a code of practice, which would contain mandatory rules for all pub companies owning more than 500 pubs, and an independent adjudicator with the power to investigate and settle disputes;

(f)        regrets that changes directly implemented by the Coalition Government to General Permitted Development Orders have made it easier for pubs to be converted to small supermarkets without the need for planning permission at all and opposes these Government changes; and

(g)       confirms that the issue of creating a retention of community facilities policy and requiring applicants to demonstrate the lack of economic viability of a pub will be considered as part of the development of the Local Plan.

(Note: Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Colin Ross, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson, Katie Condliffe, David Baker and Trevor Bagshaw voted for Paragraphs (a) to (d) and (g), against Paragraph (f) and abstained on Paragraph (e) of the Substantive Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)