A warning has been issued over an 'alarming trend' that has seen pubs across the county demolished. Nottingham CAMRA has said that the conversion of pubs to apartments is contributing to the loss of community spaces.
More than 300 Nottinghamshire pubs have closed down over the last two decades according to Office for National Statistics data - and the toll doesn't include those that have been lost during the Covid pandemic. Many of these old drinking houses are now being turned into apartments, with plans recently approved for the Inham Nook pub in Chilwell to be knocked down and replaced with council homes.
But even viable pubs with committed regulars - such as The Gardeners Inn in Cossall, are subject to applications for new apartments in place of established boozers. Steve Westby, Nottingham CAMRA branch chairman, was concerned that the trend of pubs being knocked down or converted would mean communities losing their 'heart'.
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"Pubs being shut down and developed is a trend that has been going on before Covid. For example there's not one pub left in St Ann's, in years gone by there were dozens of pubs there. Sneinton Dale is another area that used to have dozens but there are only a few left now like the Lord Nelson," Mr Westby said.
"The thing with situations like with the Cossall pub [The Gardeners Inn] is that it was a viable business and community hub. But developers can shut down working pubs to turn them into apartments, and obviously that is upsetting for locals.
"In a lot of places it is where the local community comes together, they used to support the local football team or host a darts team, provide a meeting space. If you lose the pub you lose the heart of the community.
Between 2001 and 2019, 330 pubs shut down across the county. The smoking ban in 2007 and cheap supermarket beer were reasons given in previous years or industry struggles, even before Covid.
Mr Westby added: "We should all be concerned about about this, there aren't any new pubs going in place of the demolished ones either. The only saviours are the micro-pubs that pop up and serve the community quite well, but they are not the answer.
"Local authorities need to seriously from now on consider whether they allow any more of these pubs to be developed. We are getting to the point where we cannot afford to lose any more. It is an alarming thing to see - people seem to have lost sight of all of them going.
"It is often flats but is it possible to have both on the site of a pub, a compromise like we've already seen with places like the Gardeners Inn actually where there was already accommodation as well." Other pubs have been converted into shops, takeaways and offices.
Hilary Silvester, executive chair of Nottingham Civic Society, said that although they opposed the demolition of historic public houses, apartments were sometimes the best option for vacant pubs. "We would rather these buildings, which are usually decent Victorian former industrial buildings, not be completely demolished for new modern buildings that don't fit in with the area," Ms Silvester said.
"We have no opposition to buildings being converted to nicely done residential apartments, that is if they are not being used or if it would better preserve the building. We would rather it be used if it can no longer be a business as long as they are sensible apartments that do not take away from the area."
