BBPA: Last-minute changes to Localism Bill a 'breakthrough for UK pub trade'

The changes, made in the House of Lords on Monday evening, could in effect prevent the loss of much-loved community pubs, by allowing business-to-business sales of pubs to go ahead.

“It’s a good result,” said BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds upon hearing the news. “This change removes the potential for huge uncertainty and delays under the original plans. This would have cost the pub trade millions of pounds, with no benefit to the local community.”

The BBPA and other organisations were initially concerned about the proposals, claiming that they would have actually made it harder to keep pubs open.

The Bill contains provisions to allow local communities to nominate local ‘assets of community value’. If such assets are put up for sale by their owners, the local community would then have a right to try and purchase them.

But the concerns were that legitimate, business-to-business transfers of pubs would therefore be blighted by uncertainty and delays as a result of a strict timetable during which this process took place. While the existing owners would not have to accept an offer from the community, they would not be able to sell to anyone else prior to that offer being made.

However, having voiced these concerns, the Government have listened and acted, by removing scope for any uncertainty or delays.

“This is a breakthrough which shows that the Government has listened to our concerns,” added Simmonds. “We have been pressing for months for changes that would allow legitimate, business-to-business sales of pubs to go ahead, keeping them outside the scope of the community-right-to-buy system.”

Earlier this year, BigHospitality reported that the BBPA urged the Government to rethink the Community Right to Buy Scheme ​because of concerns it may threaten the sale of viable pubs.