On Tuesday 28th March, members of Parliament considered and agreed to an amendment to the Neighbourhood Planning Bill which will remove permitted development rights for
the conversion or demolition of pubs across England.
Following this debate, the All Parliamentary Pubs Group and CAMRA have written to Punch CEO Duncan Garrood requesting that the company enter into the spirit of this forthcoming legislation, by committing to submit a planning application for any intention to convert or demolish a pub site between now and the implementation of the legislation.
Punch are very happy to agree to this request and see this collaboration between all interest groups as a way forward for the Pub industry.
Duncan Garrood commented: “Having received the request from the All Parliamentary Pubs Group and CAMRA, I am delighted to confirm that we at Punch are very happy to agree to the request.”
“By giving our Public support to the amendment prior to the debate, I believe we showed our positive intentions. Whilst I think any Punch submissions for change of use will be absolutely minimal, if they are to be made, we will submit a planning application to show a constructive path forward.”
“I think, certainly from the point of view of Punch, this has been a wonderful example of people, companies and campaigning bodies, all of whom care about pubs, coming together and working collaboratively.”