You may be aware that Samuel Smith has a number of their pubs listed for sale, with the adverts stating that future pub use is prohibited.

Any change of use of a pub in England requires planning permission. Under the newly-revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), where change of use of a pub is being proposed, there needs to be evidence that there is no reasonable prospect of the use being retained, either due to insufficient community support or because it's no longer viable or feasible to operate. Where commercial viability is an issue, evidence should be provided that reasonable steps had been taken to market the pub for its existing use without success, for a period of at least 12 months.

As the listings for these pubs seem to suggest a breach of the new NPPF, CAMRA have contacted Samuel Smith to draw their attention to this and invite them to adjust their approach to the sales.

CAMRA will be escalating our campaigning if we don't receive a prompt response.