The Issue: Do pubs have a bright future or are their days well and truly numbered?

Tony Goulding, chairman of the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)

The Oxfordshire local pub will survive, but not in the numbers it used to. Nothing is safe any more.

About 700 pubs in the county are in the Good Beer Guide and we have probably lost 100 in the last 10 years.

The main problem is predatory property developers.

In over just 10 years, the area that has been most ripped apart has been Marston, which has gone from nine pubs to two.

The Marston area from the bottom of Headington Hill to the John Radcliffe Hospital has been stripped of all pubs except the Victoria and the Red Lion.

The last one to go was the Jack Russell.

In the Lye Valley area one local, the Fairview, has closed and the other, The Corner House pub, is going to be closed unless people band together with CAMRA’s help.

The very best we can hope for would be that part of the pub was kept and other parts built on, so it had some future. I believe we have to compromise on some sites.

We have a much more diverse population now, 25 per cent of whom don’t drink beer.

In the past there were heavy industry-supported local pubs that have gone now there are no more men slaking a thirst at the end of the day.

Supermarkets are one of the biggest problems we have, not just because of the cheap alcohol but because it encourages people to have a nice quiet drink at home.

Money can be tight, especially for the older generation who don’t have a large disposable income. Most feel comfortable drinking at home.

Oxford itself has only lost a couple of pubs. We have been very lucky; the city centre is quite well off.

There are 30 real ale outlets and the likes of The White Horse, The King’s Arms and The Lamb and Flag are established. As listed buildings, they’re not going to go.

But sites that are on corners, with car parks and large gardens, can be turned into up to 16 flats. They are definitely in jeopardy.

We need pubs for sports fans, pubs for real ale drinkers and food-type pubs for families.

We need to focus more on families because they may be tomorrow’s drinkers.

NO

Jason Sturch, general manager of the Bullnose Morris pub in Blackbird Leys

If you run the business to the best of your ability, then you will succeed.

Some of the pubs that closed were not quite as good as the other ones.

The most important thing for a pub to remain open is to have a unique selling point or a quirk, or to sell things people want to buy – something from around the world like unique beers or tapas. The market can be very difficult if you don’t sell food.

Some pubs have leased a part of their business and opened something unique like a Thai restaurant.

Some have barber shops, hairdressers – I even saw one with a post office.

You actually go into the pub and they have a section that offers unique services other pubs might not.

We at the Bullnose Morris provide amazing food, a great community atmosphere and we make everyone feel welcome.

We keep in touch with our customers – we open for breakfast because people want us to.

We just started serving food until 10 instead of nine. That way, we get people from the businesses across the road who finish just after nine.

They can come after work and have a bite.

Before, they could only have a bag of crisps and a pint but now they can have a meal.

We run a bingo on Sunday nights because that’s what our customers want.

Gala bingo can be quite serious, so they were looking for more of a fun bingo to do here.

It’s a chance for them to meet up, have a chat and a drink – and it fills a time that would be quiet for us.

Because we’re at the heart of the community, for us it’s all about bringing people together.

We support the local football team, we always help local charity events and we regularly donate to good causes around the area.

It’s about helping each other – we support them and they support us.

Oxfordshire is like everywhere else.

There are a lot of pubs in a small area – it is so competitive.

But if pub owners perform to the best of their ability, they will succeed.