Brits choose local pub over parks, post office and banks

  • Pub makes it into list of top three places we’d miss the most behind only the local shop and doctor’s surgery
  • Brits say their local is more important to the community than the park, post office, library and bank
  • Two thirds of Brits value the pub highly as a local amenity
  • To celebrate the start of National Pub Fortnight, communities moved high street services into the local pub
It’s official, Brits love the Great British Pub and value it in the local community above parks, the post office, high street banks, libraries and places of worship, according to a recent survey*.
Our local watering hole lands third place in a list of the community services most important to us, only beaten by the doctor’s surgery and the local shop.
As we enter National Pub Fortnight, a two-week celebration of British pubs, the research has also found that 68 per cent of people believe the pub to be a valued local amenity.
To highlight the important role the pub plays in the community as we head in to National Pub Fortnight, pubs up and down the country are celebrating with free drinks promotions and two pubs in Cheshire and Greater Manchester have even invited local businesses to operate from the pub to encourage people to visit. Importance of pub to local community.
Over a fifth of respondents said that they love their local so much they would miss it if they were to move to a new house. When asked why we visit our local, over half of us (53%) go there to socialise with friends, followed by spending time with partners (15%) and watching sport (8%).
The research was commissioned by Ei Publican Partnerships, the UK’s largest leased and tenanted pub business, and Star Pubs and Bars who are working together to launch this year’s National Pub Fortnight.
The survey also found that our top pub talking points are sports (29%), TV (28%) and family (27%) although for women, relationships took second place. Politics and Brexit topped the list of topics that should be barred from the pub at 64 per cent.
Nick Light, Managing Director for Ei Publican Partnerships, said: “As the UK’s largest pub company it’s fantastic to see that the British public share our passion for pubs. The results of the survey really capture the essence of what National Pub Fortnight is all about, putting the local pub at the heart of communities and encouraging people from all walks of life to come in and enjoy a drink.”
Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, added: “Local pubs are vital to communities up and down the country. There is no better time to celebrate these much-loved institutions than during National Pub Fortnight, so I’d encourage everyone to pay a visit to their local and raise a glass to the great British pub.”
National Pub Fortnight aims to attract new customers to pubs and help them prosper at the heart of their communities. Taking place between 20th July and 5th August over 2,500 establishments across the UK will be taking part and celebrating these cornerstones of British society.
For more information visit www.nationalpubfortnight.com
*Survey of 2,001 general respondents aged 18+ carried out in June 2018 by Opinion Matters