London pubs

The downside of a lot of pubs is lack of accessibility for a lot of people. Only the newest venues tend to have enough cash to convert grade 2 listed buildings into something that can work for a large demographic. But then this lends itself to other venues. So, it’s a double-edged sword in that sense. I’m not really a big fan of loud and busy places so having a good range can help.

I am puzzled by the closure of gay cruising pubs with dark rooms. Maybe people use the internet more for these things, but in the 1990s they used to be great places for unexpected mixing and encounters. Specially important for shy gay people or gay people without a lot of money. Saunas are too expensive unless you want to use them as an alternative to a hotel.

I am also puzzled by the closure of good music venues because apparently a tesco or some such can pay more rent. I don't understand why something that attractgs a crowd and is remembered can pay less rent than a branch, and think maybe it's because tesco can borrow money cheaply and that they can judge risks better on a boring uniform service.

I think there things a good pub manager could try.

The coffee and wifi market
First, people pay for coffiee and good wifi for public deskspace during the day, Not all providers have made money, but there is a market there. Maybe a pub could be open for coffee and wifi only during the day, if it doesn't have the turnover to jusify opening as a pub. The same goes for public libraries which might make enough money to stay open by serving coffee. In some cases, you might even have locker space and desk space

The very fast food market, or food from a vending machine
If food can be served in 30 seconds - maybe serving a ticket that opens a vending machine, or serving hot soup from an instand hot soup tap,  then one person can staff the pub without leaving the bar. That makes it a lot more likely that someone could take over a closed pub on a short lease and try re-opening it with very low costs. Something a bit like the Eat restaurant chain. Maybe I'm getting carried away, but maybe a group with less skill like a committee of volunteers could work a system like that, without the hassle of running a kitchen and a menu and two people on duty.

What an old geezer like me needs is a pub where you can sit and have a quiet pint without gambling machines, 5 giant screens showing different programmes and something unrelated playing at mind-numbing volume on the sound system.  There are a few such pubs but they are like gold dust and I'm not telling anyone where they are!

An interesting point is that VAT on an average 4% pint is currently more than the excise duty, (not to mention contributions from overheads such as building and employee costs), so just cutting excise duty on it's own will not save many pubs!

Does not give a chance for general comments. I would like to see more pubs with video games and/or pool. I hate TV in pubs but no chance to comment on that either. Not a very well designed questionnaire.

Small pubs are "dead meat". The VAT tax on food doesn't help . . . Drinks alone are not enough these days.

Rents are too high . . .

It might help to have a lower tax rate for low alcohol beers  e.g. the old 2% milds which were the original working class drink .  .

Treasury should reduce the tax on alcohol served in pubs bec many of the closures are due to price now being comprised of so much tax which never comes back to the community and which drives people to the supermarkets for a bottle of wine or a few cans of beer.  Other countries in Europe seem to manage perfectly well without such high tax on alcohol which is slowly destroying local communities. So then what do the younger generation do? Out on the street, knives and drugs. 

Blame the treasury for the mayhem in the sytreets due to such high alcohol tax.

Closure of pubs is not helping London. Too many pubs are closing because alcohol in supermarkets is so much cheaper. The social side of meeting in a pub is, sadly a thing of the past. It is a real shame to see pubs closed and taken over by property developers to build expensive accommodation. Once a pub closes, that community lifeline has gone

i am a Londoner born and bred.I sit on a conservation area committee.I was brought up in London’s east end,where pubs were the local community hubs.Different pubs for different age groups.Loud and lively for the young.Slow and quiet for the older.I mean they were like living rooms for the locals to gather.There was a big choice.Mostly people would know who frequented the locals.Every corner had a pub,and if you visited the area that’s where you would head to to just gather your thoughts and take in the atmosphere.You don’t have to drink alcohol to go to a pub.Lord knows they charge just as much for certain water now.Pubs are  one of the most important community gathering places.England was a place  of inns to refresh.Pubs were just the progression with at lot still called inns.As London has supposedly progressed with its architecture and modernisation,pubs have been destroyed,Thus the heart heart of the community has been ripped out and people are lost and lonely.Loneliness is a killer.Depression is a terrible illness.By getting rid of pubs,there is a lack of community spirit( excuse the pun).An area that thrives will always have a good pub at its center.It is a place of celebration,either weddings ,birthdays,parties of all kind,and funerals ( celebration of life).You can use a pub for any function you like and everybody still does.Its ready made for all occasions.Its a great shame that pubs declined,not beacause people didn’t want them,but that the powers that be got to greedy.This is the problem with London.Greed instead of need becomes more powerful and takes the community spirit away.Thus the wonderful colourful characters of the areas get destroyed and lost.Instead of trying to change everything good,just embrace what is good about an area and you will see it thrive.I don’t care,got me beer on the sideboard here,or a nice G&T,Pimms anyone?Its a London thing.Its our heritage,be proud to be British.I am 

The best London pubs have a diverse offering, so they're not just appealing to one, homogenous group.

Pubs don't just have to be somewhere to drink alcohol. They can be a place for people to express themselves through open mic events or karaoke, to make friends at quiz night, or to have a laugh at comedy events. They can be a place to celebrate, commiserate, somewhere to watch the big game or spend a quiet afternoon with some friends over a game of scrabble.

Spiraling business rates and alcohol duty, competition from national supermarket chains, and residential developers mean we could face a future where the only pubs available are Megaspoons-cheap-booze-factory at one end and "gastropubs" (i.e. expensive restaurants with beer) at the other, with nowhere providing that community spirit, that cultural hub, that ready-made living room we're so lucky to have now.

Business rate relief, conditional on providing some kind of role for the community, could help. In rural areas pubs double up as post offices and grocers. Could that help pubs appeal to a wider section of the community here in London? 

Pubs would be great places for groups of organisations to meet.  However, as most of the loos are not accessible (either up stairs or down steps) they can't be used for organised community outings.   All pubs, especially the newer ones, should have a disabled toilet on the ground floor.

Drink prices are far too expensive, and limit the number of times one can visit them, I go to pubs to eat, ather than drink much. Only one major chain offers drinks at reasonable prices. Could other pubs follow their business model, or is it a function of scale? Are alcohol taxes and business rates too high?

i would support any Pub  as they are usually trying to provide a service to the community which is quite unique and special ,also if you are in a strange town ,city place ,its easier to say i'll see you in the "The Lamb'  in Leadenhall market or "Slater's in Throgmorton Street ,every time a Pub closes is a very sad day for any city ,town village they are a positive place for people to interact togather and used properly are a very positve addition to any place ,close them down and your city or town will effectively die   

Whilst I've been favourable about pubs I visit and will continue to do so, management in pubs around tourist areas such as Covent Garden can be pretty arrogant, staff are often off-hand and semingly rude, so best avoided.