Look out for our new Hertfordshire pub-supporting posters which we hope will soon appear in pub windows and on noticeboards as well as in Pints of View and at St Albans Beer and Cider Festival, encouraging people to regularly visit our pubs.
Well-publicised national economic pressures have negatively affected so many pubs, resulting in closures, sometimes permanent or sometimes for extended periods. As the financial noose tightens the queue of new publicans for tenancies is short and necessary increases in bar prices have certainly also dissuaded some people from crossing the threshold for a pint. For our existing publicans this is often a desperate squeeze.
Nevertheless, pubs are at the very heart of our tradition, remain great places to meet and are on our agendas for meeting friends and moments of celebration.
CAMRA nationally is petitioning Government for Beer Duty relief, pressing for changes to Business Rates and seeking VAT fairness which is currently heavily weighted in favour of supermarkets.
Locally, in Hertfordshire, we are promoting our pubs through Pints of View magazine, through our yearly competitions and awards and at our regular Branch trails and events.
What we can all do is visit our pubs as often as we can to ensure that they remain vibrant, healthy and loved, firmly based in the hearts of our community.
Spread the word – pubs should always have “A Place In Our Herts”.
