Campaigners prepare to fight to 'bitter end' to save Exeter pub the Queen's Head in Pinhoe Road
A CAMPAIGN to save a popular community pub in Exeter from the bulldozers is gathering momentum.
Protestors took to the streets with banners outside the Queen's Head in Pinhoe Road to garner further public support for their battle to stop the 82-year-old venue being replaced by a Farm Foods frozen store.
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Campaigners outside the Queen's Head in Pinhoe Road
The owner, Spirit Pub Company, recently sold the pub to Farm Foods in a silent auction. However, the current landlords, who say they were narrowly outbid, feel they could take over the pub and run it as a viable community facility.
A planning application has been submitted to Exeter City Council, but campaigners said they were prepared to fight to the bitter end to save the pub.
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Becky Hicks, who works at the pub and is helping to organise the campaign, said: "We are pressing on with the petitions and so far have 18 pages worth of signatures but they are still being collected.
"People are also writing letters to the planning department to object as we only have until December 27 to do this.
"Hopefully we will get enough people to object that they take notice us. We are trying to galvanise people and the protest we did on Saturday certainly helped.
"We were outside with banners and there was a lot of chanting with things like 'save our pub' and 'help save 82 years and history and memories'. A lot of people came down to the pub to show their support and the place was packed. There were a lot of people beeping horns and it was really good.
"I am full of hope anyway and someone has to speak out about it. I will fight to the bitter end. To be honest if it does become a frozen food store I don't think a lot of people will shop in it. This place has been a lot of people's local for more than 40 years. I cannot believe they are trying to claim it is not a viable business when it is.
"This is not just a pub – it is like the local community hall." A spokesman for the Spirit Pub Company said: "Following a review of our pub estate the Queens Head Hotel was marketed for sale.
"We have now exchanged unconditional contracts after receiving best and final offers for the site. We are unable to comment on future plans for the site following the sale."
In its planning application, a spokesman for Farm Foods wrote: "The loss of a local community amenity like a public house is not desirable. Old pubs of this type are no longer viable. Increasing competition from cheap booze in supermarkets, the smoking ban, and more modern drinking outlets have all drawn away the core customer base.
"Nobody likes to see the closure of a pub, unless it has been a nuisance to its neighbours.
"But there is a change within planning guidelines which places more emphasis on sustainability and that now includes taking future social and economic issues into consideration.
"The social and economic loss of a pub within this centre is likely to be more than off-set by the provision of a new frozen food discounter."
A decision on the application will be made by the city council's planning committee.
Comments
by Incedendo
Friday, December 21 2012, 12:39PM
“As the landlord of this pub, when I moved in last November I would totally agree with comments made that the pub was not viable, but since myself
and my partner have been here we have at least doubled the turnover! got rid of the undesirables and made this a centre of the community once
again ......
Many people I think are not aware of one big fact in the loss of so many pubs. This fact being pub companies like Spirit & Enterprise Inns are
big, big PLC's (Public Limited Companies - Traded on the stock exchange) that our basically large property management companies with a secondary
income coming from what is called the BEER TIE and have really only one goal, to make as much money as possible for the shareholders!
The BEER TIE is probably the biggest cause of failed pubs in recent years! How this works ... I pay a sensible rent for my pub, but, I have to
buy my beer, ciders and in some cases all other drinks from the pub company. I have to pay a premium for this! example I currently have to by a
keg of carling at £129.55 + VAT (£155.46), the local wholesaler can sell me the same keg for £79.95 + VAT (£95.94) that's a difference of £49.60
.....
Now lets say the pub sells 10 kegs a week, that's 880 pints of carling! I have now paid an additional £496.00 to the pub company over what I
would pay the local wholesaler or £25,792 per year and this is just on one product !!!!! we currently sell 7 different draft beers and ciders
alone, not including bottled beers & ciders
I mentioned in the article, I was narrowly outbid, my understanding just £30,000 as a privately owned independent pub (like wetherspoons), 1. I
can be more competitive and 2. would have more money to invest in building my business. I would not have put a bid in for this site if I didn't
think the business has no long term sustainability ....
A lot of time and effort, plus many long days and nights go into running a good community pub and myself & my partner have many plans to develop
this business, with hotel rooms and a new restaurant (good quality & good value) and plan on staying here till we retire, and that's at least
another 25 years!
It's not often I say this, but in our area we have lost the dry cleaners and funnily enough a general food store not more than 200 yards up the
road! in the last year. Bargin Booze is right next door to us and at least half their customers visit the pub on a regular basis, Corel is just
the other side of the bridge and they have commented that probably they would have to shut if the pub goes as most of their customers come from
the pub. It is also my understanding that in the past decade or so there has been 2 failed attempts at a Farmfood type business within a couple
of miles of the pub .....
I'd like to thank Becky for her efforts and thank all our customers that support us so well, I think for once it's time to make a stand, many
food supermarkets, metro type places get built every year but when was the last time you saw a new built pub !!!!!
Thanks to all : Sean & Linda”
by Incedendo
Friday, December 21 2012, 12:38PM
“As the landlord of this pub, when I moved in last November I would totally agree with comments made that the pub was not viable, but since myself and my partner have been here we have at least doubled the turnover! got rid of the undesirables and made this a centre of the community once again ......
Many people I think are not aware of one big fact in the loss of so many pubs. This fact being pub companies like Spirit & Enterprise Inns are big, big PLC's (Public Limited Companies - Traded on the stock exchange) that our basically large property management companies with a secondary income coming from what is called the BEER TIE and have really only one goal, to make as much money as possible for the shareholders!
The BEER TIE is probably the biggest cause of failed pubs in recent years! How this works ... I pay a sensible rent for my pub, but, I have to buy my beer, ciders and in some cases all other drinks from the pub company. I have to pay a premium for this! example I currently have to by a keg of carling at £129.55 + VAT (£155.46), the local wholesaler can sell me the same keg for £79.95 + VAT (£95.94) that's a difference of £49.60 .....
Now lets say the pub sells 10 kegs a week, that's 880 pints of carling! I have now paid an additional £496.00 to the pub company over what I would pay the local wholesaler or £25,792 per year and this is just on one product !!!!! we currently sell 7 different draft beers and ciders alone, not including bottled beers & ciders
I mentioned in the article, I was narrowly outbid, my understanding just £30,000 as a privately owned independent pub (like wetherspoons), 1. I can be more competitive and 2. would have more money to invest in building my business. I would not have put a bid in for this site if I didn't think the business has no long term sustainability ....
A lot of time and effort, plus many long days and nights go into running a good community pub and myself & my partner have many plans to develop this business, with hotel rooms and a new restaurant (good quality & good value food) and plan on staying here till we retire, and that's at least another 25 years!
It's not often I say this, but in our area we have lost the dry cleaners and funnily enough a general food store not more than 200 yards up the road! in the last year. Bargin Booze is right next door to us and at least half their customers visit the pub on a regular basis, Corel is just the other side of the bridge and they have commented that probably they would have to shut if the pub goes as most of their customers come from the pub. It is also my understanding that in the past decade or so there has been 2 failed attempts at a Farmfood type business within a couple of miles of the pub .....
I'd like to thank Becky for her efforts and thank all our customers that support us so well, I think for once it's time to make a stand, many food supermarkets, metro type places get built every year but when was the last time you saw a new built pub !!!!!
Thanks to all : Sean & Linda”