Leading members of the trade and police have highlighted how working in partnership and collaborating is the way forward for the pub sector as it recovers from the pandemic.
National Pubwatch award winners
Speakers at the National Pubwatch Conference, held in Nottingham, and focused on the issue of vulnerability in the night-time economy.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), highlighted how important it was for trade associations and the sector to work closely together, even before the pandemic. She said that the BBPA worked with sister groups such as UKHospitality and the BII, and she also highlighted the important work of National Pubwatch and local pubwatches in ensuring a safe night time economy.
“Let’s keep working together to ensure that everybody feels safe when they go out, everybody can enjoy the pub, and we can still have that wonderful pub that we can call home from home,” she said.
However, she did point out that the industry did need government support as it faced the challenges of business rates and VAT, alongside the rise in the cost of living. She said 800 pubs had closed their doors during the pandemic and “unfortunately, many more are still at risk”.
She added: “We want to be part of the re-ignition of the UK economy. We want to reconnect communities and we want to regenerate towns and city centres and high streets to bring them back to life.
“We can bounce back strongly with this level of support, and we can deliver for economies and be part of the levelling up agenda up and down this country, but we have to be given the tools to do business.”
Learning lessons
Craig Guildford, chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said that, through the pandemic, partnership had “made a difference throughout”. He also highlighted the issue of drink spiking and said it was being tackled in a partnership response between the police and venues.
“I think we have to learn some lessons through Covid and build back together in a stronger way,” he said. “I want to see more jobs in the local night-time economy and see more people coming into the towns and the city.”
The National Pubwatch awards were handed out, including the Award of Merit, which rewards individuals who have contributed to the success of pubwatch schemes. This was given to Lynda Leigh, licensee of the George and Dragon in Flint, who was credited with turning the pub around by excluding the troublemakers, taking a zero-tolerance approach, and supporting her community during the Covid pandemic.
The Malcolm Eidmans award was given to Ian Graham, chief licensing officer with the Metropolitan Police, for his partnership working with the trade. A raft of bravery and meritorious conduct awards were also given out.
Licensee Penny Parker, of The Victoria Inn, Burton, and her customer Anne-Marie Greenough were each given an award for saving a customer’s life after a cardiac arrest.
Three door supervisors — Lee Jones, Jonathan Parry, and Dafydd Murray — received bravery and meritorious conduct awards for saving the life of a customer and fearlessly detaining a dangerous offender.
And there was a similar award for door supervisor Gareth Colley, who saved a customer from drowning.
