Publican Conference: What use will the change be?

Changes to the property class categories could stifle innovation and reduce flexibility in refurbishments delegates were told at this year's Publican...

Changes to the property class categories could stifle innovation and reduce flexibility in refurbishments delegates were told at this year's Publican Conference.

Innovation in the pub industry could soon become a thing of the past because of changes to the use classes system.

Trevor Watson, director at agent Davis Coffer Lyons, told The Publican's Property, Planning and Design Conference that the proposed changes will lead to fragmentation, reduced flexibility of use, less innovation and fewer refurbishments.

The upcoming changes to the system will see pubs and bars move from class A3 to A4. At the moment a licensee or pubco has the flexibility to change the use of their premises from a bar to a restaurant without seeking additional planning permission.

But under the proposed new system, which is expected to become law in the next few months, an operator will not be able to change the use of a site without seeking planning permission first.

Mr Watson said: "The government is introducing these changes because it thinks pubs are too prevalent in town centres, that there is an imbalance of uses, with no-go areas at night and that too many restaurants are being converted to pubs.

"In reality, restaurants are very rarely being converted to pubs, the stock of town centre pubs is now falling and it is now more likely that pubs are being converted to restaurants."

These changes were bound to cause problems for the pub industry, Mr Watson continued.

He urged the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which is handling the changes, to issue more guidance and advised operators to obtain a certificate of established use.

Consider this:

Mr Watson (pictured) told the conference that pubs would need to ask some key questions once changes to the use classes order become law:

How will late-night leisure venues or bars be defined? When will late night begin?
How will pubs and restaurants be defined? By sales or floor space or style?
Will food-led country pubs be classed as restaurants?

More freedom for tenants

Britain's pub companies need to allow their tenants greater freedom so as not to stifle consumer choice and competition.

This would be the preferred step forward for the industry, rather than abolishing the beer tie, according to Mike Benner, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

He told delegates at the Property, Planning and Design conference: "If we called for the abolition of the beer tie - it wouldn't solve anything at all - so we've asked the Trade & Industry Select Committee to open up the market to allow licensees to be more flexible and take in guest beers - a move that would benefit everyone.

"Enabling tenants to source one guest beer outside the tie will allow them to be more responsive to consumer demand, benefiting all concerned. We also believe there should be an end to upward-only rent reviews and that a code of conduct should be introduced."

The committee is due to publish its full report on the relationship between pub companies and licensees before the end of the month. CAMRA hopes that the Select Committee Inquiry will result in:

A guest beer right for all pubco tenants
The option of a free of tie tenancy for prospective tenants
An end to above inflation increases in beer prices
An end to upward-only and RPI rent reviews.

Ever So Sensible advice

A pub's design will determine whether it is a huge success or a big flop, according to Chris Bulaitis of Ever So Sensible Bars.

Mr Bulaitis, managing director of the Midlands-based company - which won The Publican Design of the Year 2003 award - said he was still amazed that so many people were getting it wrong.

He told The Publican's Property, Planning and Design Conference: "How many times have you walked into a pub and said 'yuk'? What the hell is going on in here - they've wasted a bloody fortune!"

His advice to designers was to ask themselves a few vital questions, such as what do the customers do for a living and what the location of the pub offers, before pressing ahead with any changes to the layout and look of the pub.

"You need to be specific about the age and lifestyle of your customers, where they eat and drink at the moment, and bear in mind that there will be different profiles for different times of day," he pointed out. "Planning is everything. Customers are bored of having the same thing served up to them time after time."

Advice to designers:

Dos