Save the Halfway House

[Lady Grey]

Hi guys and girls, I wonder if anyone is interested in signing a petition to save The Halfway House pub in Box (Stroud Gloucestershire). For information about the campaign and to sign the petition, go to www.savethehalfwayhouse.com

[sheffield hatter]

I have signed the petition because I believe that every village and community should have a pub, but I'm a little concerned about the way the campaign presents itself. It seems a little incoherent and confused. For example, it states, "The petition action is not an attack on the Chine School" but then goes on to say, "there has been a clear abuse of public TRUST and serious mismanagement of Funds by those running the Novalis Trust / Chine School." There's a subtle difference between not attacking the school and attacking the trustees. The use of capitals in the word TRUST smacks of demagoguery and the attempt to explain the background (hundreds of thousands spent on new toilets and cameras, the pub then run by another company for three and a half years) is hard for an outsider to understand. Do you have any insight into this?

[rpadam]

I am normally very keen to support such campaigns, but I had a look at the website and was put off by the highly personalised nature of much of the content...

[Crossste]

It has the makings of a cracking episode of Midsomer Murders.

[Mobyduck]

It has the makings of a cracking episode of Midsomer Murders.

I think it was Proffesor Plum with the candlestick.

[Lady Grey]

Do you have any insight into this?

I read about the campaign in The Tippler magazine, but I had no idea at the time of reading the article, how heated this issue has become. I certainly don't want to add anymore fuel to the fire so maybe it's best left alone.

[Mobyduck]

I have signed the petition because I believe that every village and community should have a pub, but I'm a little concerned about the way the campaign presents itself. It seems a little incoherent and confused. For example, it states, "The petition action is not an attack on the Chine School" but then goes on to say, "there has been a clear abuse of public TRUST and serious mismanagement of Funds by those running the Novalis Trust / Chine School." There's a subtle difference between not attacking the school and attacking the trustees. The use of capitals in the word TRUST smacks of demagoguery and the attempt to explain the background (hundreds of thousands spent on new toilets and cameras, the pub then run by another company for three and a half years) is hard for an outsider to understand. Do you have any insight into this?

I read about the campaign in The Tippler magazine, but I had no idea at the time of reading the article, how heated this issue has become. I certainly don't want to add anymore fuel to the fire so maybe it's best left alone.

I did sign for the same reasons as S.H. But totally agree with the other comments.

[hondo]

"threatened legal action against the company which hosts"
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co....ail/story.html

[Spinko]

If a pub isn't able to sustain itself, let it close. Three or four main factors as I see them..

1) People wanting to get away from a number of pubs and have house parties. Better food, more comfortable, no-one you do not want there (usually!), better music
2) Cheaper - a combination of pubs shooting themselves in the foot, and the disparity between supermarket prices and pub prices - mainly due to economies of scale in terms of labour and rent
3) People not able to drive around pubs in the country and have 4 or 5 pints any more
4) Perhaps the smoking ban and people choosing to drink/smoke at home. This might be part of 1), but then again the house parties I go to generally have no-smoking-indoors rules anyway...

The good news is that good pubs are proliferating. It's just creative destruction and the same process by which successful businesses stick around while poor ones go to the wall. It's something to be championed!

[oldboots]

If a pub isn't able to sustain itself, let it close. Three or four main factors as I see them..

1) People wanting to get away from a number of pubs and have house parties. Better food, more comfortable, no-one you do not want there (usually!), better music
2) Cheaper - a combination of pubs shooting themselves in the foot, and the disparity between supermarket prices and pub prices - mainly due to economies of scale in terms of labour and rent
3) People not able to drive around pubs in the country and have 4 or 5 pints any more
4) Perhaps the smoking ban and people choosing to drink/smoke at home. This might be part of 1), but then again the house parties I go to generally have no-smoking-indoors rules anyway...

The good news is that good pubs are proliferating. It's just creative destruction and the same process by which successful businesses stick around while poor ones go to the wall. It's something to be championed!

All very valid points (except the last which is an over-simplification) but I don't think any of them are suggested as the cause of closure in this particular case. The usual course of a village consortium buying the pub looks like a non-starter and the possibility of the owners keeping the existing pub open looks remote. Of course the village does have the option of converting another building into a pub, I shouldn't think the planners or licensing authorities could object in this case.