Staffordshire pub installs bread and milk vending machine

21-Aug-2011 - Last updated on 22-Aug-2011 at 11:44 GMT

Peter Wilkinson's vending machine was installed after he was refused permission to build a shop next to his pub

A vending machine selling bread and milk has been installed outside a pub in Staffordshire after its licensee was refused permission to open a shop on the premises.

Peter Wilkinson, of the Raddle Inn in Hollington, told the Publican's Morning Advertiser he'd decided to install the machine, which also sells bacon and butter, outside his pub, after the council refused him permission for a shop.

Wilkinson, who believes that pubs need to 'diversify' to survive against supermarkets selling cheap alcohol and attract younger customers, said the machine, which is monitored by CCTV, is already selling 40 gallons of milk per week.

“Pubs need to offer something different with supermarkets selling cheap drink”, he told BigHospitality's sister title. “A lot of young people don’t see the pub as a meeting place anymore because they can contact each other using their mobile phones.”

Accommodation

Wilkinson said he the council refused him planning permission for a shop, reception area, gym and a range of wig-wam style accomodation at his premises, which already house a number of log cabins for tourists looking to visit nearby Alton Towers.

He said: “The council told me it was not closely associated with an existing tourist development, but I already have the log cabins so I don’t understand. They also said it was in a special landscape area and not well supported by a road or transport.

“I could have taken the pub to another level and thought I had found another niche market. There has not been a shop in the town for 20 years and the nearest one is three and a half miles away."

Adam Pescod is web reporter for BigHospitality's sister publication the Publican's Morning Advertiser.