Greenridge, Upton - Public Meeting

I spoke last night at the public meeting at the Upton Community Centre about the campaign to persuade Hall and Woodhouse to work with the community to provide an acceptable use for the site.  The meeting was very well attended with some really good points made.

I had already written to the Lytchett Minster and Upton Community Association (LUCA) about the situation with the pub and this formed the basis of what I said:

The market for the night-time economy and social drinking has been declining for some time. Most people blame the smoking ban. In my opinion, that’s simply an easy answer. In fact it’s been a combination of factors; the increase in mortgage rates from eighteen months ago onwards, the cheap availability of alcohol through supermarkets which has encouraged people to drink at home and the changes in the licensing act making it much easier to obtain alcohol have all played their part. My thoughts on all of this and particularly the availability of ridiculously cheap alcohol are well documented elsewhere.

The one thing we have learnt over the past couple of years is that in order for the business to survive we have had to invest in it. Improve our premises, improve our entertainment and improve the ambience of the venue in general. For Hall and Woodhouse to be giving you the answers they have is, I have to say, something of a cop out. The Greenridge may well be too large a premises to sustain profitably for them. However, to propose the plans for disposal of the site altogether smacks, to me, of their ignoring the potential of the site and following what their marketing people have told them should be their demographic.

Having seen the investment they have put in elsewhere, I am afraid that Upton probably doesn’t match that for them. Trying to get them to change their mind about pulling out is therefore going to be relatively fruitless. Ideally the course should be to suggest they look for a purchaser from the sector who would be happier to trade from the site. It may be that they needed to be persuaded of this course of action by opposition to their various plans for the site. Your campaign to shame them over the loss of such an important local amenity is also an excellent course to take. I firmly believe that once we allow local amenities to disappear, such as pubs, post offices and libraries then we are condemning our communities to sterility and slow decline. A very short sighted approach given that I think economic stringency is likely to force many of us to a much more local view of things in the coming years.

Let's hope Hall and Woodhouse recognise their social responsibility and look for a use for the site that includes some kind of hospitality venue.