Category: News

University Arms ACV rejection – no meeting with SCC In late September, Sheffield City Council (SCC) refused our application to register the University Arms (UA) as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).   The decision then was ‘called-in.’ Our Chair and myself attended the Scrutiny Committee 20th.October, during SCBF42. The ACV rejection decision remained unchanged. However, we posed a series of six questions. In the meeting Ccl.Jack Scott, the SCC Cabinet Member for Community Services and Libraries, agreed to respond to our questions, in writing, within a week and also agreed to meet with ourselves. Such a meeting was originally promised in an email to ourselves dated 3rd.October. A written response from SCC finally arrived on 9th.November. However, despite reminders, at the time of writing, almost five weeks after the initial promise, no meeting has been arranged.  SCC have not suggested  a date/time or venue. They seem reluctant to meet with ourselves. There are currently two other ACV applications for pubs with SCC: both lodged by local community groups: White Lion, London Road – a decision was due on 3rd.November. Cherry Tree, Carterknowle Road – decision due 2nd.December The planning application to alter the ACV-listed Plough (Crosspool) into a Sainsburys received 157 responses from the public (151 against the plan). SCC have yet to make a formal decision, although this was due in late October In short, SCC are not keeping to legal deadlines, seem to be interpreting the rules in their own manner and do not seem to wish to meet with interested parties.                                   – Dave Pickersgill – Pub Heritage Officer, Sheffield and District CAMRA  

University Arms ACV rejection is ‘called-in’  On 27th.September, Sheffield City Council (SCC) refused our application to register the University Arms (UA) as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).   However, a week later, the decision was ‘called-in’ by the opposition. As soon as the decision was made public, the Sheffield CAMRA Chair and myself agreed to meet with Ccl.Jack Scott, the SCC Cabinet Member for Community Services and Libraries, who made the ACV rejection decision. However, before this meeting could take place, we learnt that the decision had been ‘called-in.’ A ‘call-in’ is intended to be used in exceptional circumstances when councillors believe that a decision has been taken in a way that is contrary to the council’s principles of decision making. It is not intended to be used to appeal a decision that is simply disagreed with. The Scrutiny Panel for the call-in’ will take place at Sheffield Town Hall on Thursday 20^th.October (16:00-19:00). Members of the public can attend and ask questions. The ACV rejection ‘reason for decision,’ includes:  ‘ The owner describes it as a ‘student pub’ suggesting that its patronage is only a section of the community. …. No evidence has been provided to the contrary.’ This statement is simply incorrect, a ‘student pub’ states that access is restricted to students: this is not the case. The pub is a long-standing entry in the  Good Beer Guide: hence, many visitors visit from far-afield. The number of successful ACV pub applications which has been approved by SCC is pitifully small:  seven from a total of (only) 19 applications (5/15 from CAMRA). This compares unfavourably with the record of many other councils. For example, all pubs in Otley have ACV status and Aylesbury and Wycombe have listed over 150 pubs as ACV. CAMRA sees ACV status as a clear badge of honour for both owners and licensees. It is a clear indication that the pub matters to the community. Our UA ACV application was submitted on 16th.May. Advice from CAMRA HQ was followed throughout the nomination process. In our opinion, and that of our colleagues in St.Albans, the application clearly reached the statutory test outlined by the Government. A decision should then arrive within 8 weeks of the application – it took SCC over 4 months …. unfortunately such a delay seems to be the local norm. As part of this process, in late July, we received a six-page objection from a legal company, Pinsent Masons, employed by the owners of the UA, the University of Sheffield.  A number of items which ‘could be used to support the application’ are suggested by Pinsent Masons. However, legally, these are unnecessary. In our opinion, these comments were deliberately added in order to confuse the situation. We were given seven days to respond (which we did). We were surprised to receive an objection from the University as we believe that ACV status is something of which any pub would be proud, especially as, judging from 2016 publications, the University and ourselves do seem to have many common aims and ideas. However, it seems that their long-term ambitions for the site outweigh other considerations. As previously reported, the University development masterplan, includes an option in which the pub is demolished. Dave Pickersgill – Pub Heritage Officer, Sheffield and District CAMRA

Beer Matters, as the newsletter of Sheffield & District branch of CAMRA, has throughout its life so far – all 466 issues across over 40 years – included the town of Dronfield and the surrounding villages in its area of coverage. However Dronfield now has its own CAMRA branch with its own local group of active volunteers as well as an absolutely booming good beer scene. Dronfield CAMRA will very soon be launching their very own quarterly magazine, Peel Ale. (For those that don’t get the pun, it is named after Dronfield’s Peel Monument) with coverage of pub, club and brewery news from the local area and information on what the branch is up to as well as interesting beer related articles and adverts from local businesses. For information on advertising in Peel Ale, please visit www.dronfieldcamra.org.uk. Once Peel Ale launches, it is anticpated that Beer Matters will only be distributed to certain key pubs in the Dronfield area with the cut in circulation in Dronfield allowing us enough copies to distribute to the growing number of real ale venues in Sheffield & District.

Annual Beer Census – Sat 3^rd September 2016 As many of you will be aware, Sheffield CAMRA organises an annual city-wide survey to collect information on which beers are available in the city on a particular day. We have been doing this for a few years now, and we are pleased to say that despite various claims from other cities such as Norwich, Derby and Nottingham, the information on the number of beers on sale usually shows that Sheffield can rightly claim to be Beer Capital of the UK. This claim was given further weight after the findings of the recent Beer Report, commissioned by Sheffield University and written by well-known beer writer Pete Brown. It is now time to undertake the census again, and we are looking to enlist more volunteers to help collect the information. There are several daytime crawls, starting in various suburbs and working into the centre, followed by a number of city centre crawls in the evening. Each crawl will be led by a designated leader who will have the survey forms and a planned route through the various pubs. Daytime crawls will start at 12 noon, and eventually arrive at the Red Deer on Pitt street by early evening to hand in the completed forms. Evening crawls then start from the Red Deer moving out through the center and regrouping in the Kelham Island area. The crawls are a sociable way to try different pubs and pubs from your usuals, as well as helping to further the beer scene in Sheffield. Mot of the routes will involve public transport t some point, but your route leader will have details and can advise on costs etc. If you would like to join on one of the crawls simply be at the start point for midday and look out for someone carrying survey forms, and a copy of Beer Matters. If you can’t make the start, simply email us at social@sheffieldcamra.org.uk and we will pass on the mobile number of the appropriate leader so you can arrange directly with them where you can meet up. If you are unable to join on a crawl , but would still like to help with collecting information, we will have an interactive survey section on the Sheffield CAMRA website where you will be able to enter details on the day. It will be updated in real time so you will be able to see which pubs still need surveying. We will need the name of the pub, and then for each cask ale on sale that day we need the name of the beer; the brewery; % strength; and price of a pint. There will be a Notes section where you can add if the pub serves real cider and keg beer. It would be great to see a few more faces on the crawls, and even better if we can prove yet again that Sheffield is unrivalled in it’s range and quality of beer on sale. Route A – Dore, Totley, Millhouses, Broadfield – Leader, Andy Cullen. Meet at Devonshire Arms, Dore (bus 81 or M17). Route B – Norton Lees, Woodseats, Heeley, London Rd – Leader, Matt Nedved. Meet at Cross Scythes, Derbyshire Lane (bus 18) Route C – Banner Cross, Hunters Bar, Ecclesall Rd – Leader, Patrick Johnson, Meet at Banner Cross Hotel, Ecclesall Rd Sth (bus 88) Route D – Deepcar, Wadsley, Hillsborough and Bradfield – Leader TBA. Meeting point Royal Oak (bus SL1 or 57) Route E – Chapeltown, Burncross, Meadowhall, Attercliffe – Leader TBA, Meeting Point TBA Route F – Walkley, Commonside, Crookes, Broomhill – Leader Paul Crofts. Meeting at Walkley Cottage (bus 95). Route G – Lodge Moor, Crosspool, Ranmoor – Leader John Beardshaw. Meet at Three Merry Lads (bus 51). Routes H, I, J – City Centre afternoon – Leaders John Bratley + others. Meet at Sheffield Tap Routes K, L, M – City Centre evening – Leaders TBA, Meet at Red Deer 7pm Paul Crofts

This annual survey helps us take the pulse of Sheffield’s real ale scene, recording the variety of beers out there on the City’s bars along with the prices charged. In the past we have used the results in terms of the number of different beers available to claim Sheffield as the Real Ale Capital of the UK, however it is useful campaigning data and is also an opportunity to pick up on pubs that need updating in whatpub.com. A number of other towns and cities do similar surveys with York and Leicester having completed theirs in the last month or so, we are doing ours on Saturday 3rd September and will be looking for volunteers to help on the day. More details in Beer Matters next month!

It is in Europe that much of what affects the UK beer drinker is determined. For instance, the Commission’s competition division is always interested in the tied house system, reform of the UK excise duty system will require EC approval, European legislation impacts on ingredients, labelling and other such issues. This is why CAMRA has linked up with 12 other beer organisations across Europe to form the European Beer Consumer Union (EBCU) which champions for better labelling, greater diversity of beer and lower prices across Europe. CAMRA is particularly concerned with the current EU Directive on Excise Duty for Alcohol, which has huge implications on how the Government can levy tax on alcohol products here in the UK.

On Wednesday 25^th May 2016 Professor Dunbar and his research team from Oxford University travelled to Parliament to present the findings of‘Friends on Tap’. The research reveals that people who have a local pub have more close friends, are happier and more trusting of others and feel more engaged with the wider community. The report was presented at the Parliamentary Beer Group AGM, which was attended by 19 MPs. Professor Dunbar discussed the premise for the research, his findings and how the report was conducted. He implored MPs to consider how a huge financial burden to the NHS and the economy could be alleviated if we had a happy and socially connected population, which he said was the key to the nation’s health. CAMRA Chief Executive Tim Page followed this by highlighting policy implications of the role of pubs as hubs to communities. He implored Members of Parliament to do more to support pubs from closing down to keep them as viable and well-used hubs of local communities. He argued that we need to do more to encourage people to go out and visit their local pub and alleviate the stigma against social drinking so that we have a balanced debate around alcohol consumption. He also asked MPs to do more to help struggling pubs stay open, arguing that this could be achieved by strengthening planning laws so that communities don’t need to go through the ACV process to protect pubs from closing. Attending MPs were very interested in the findings, asking questions about the role in pubs in improving mental health and wellbeing and how much money pubs end up raising for charities – quoting Pub Aid findings which found that £100 million has been raised for charity in pubs alone. The event was part of CAMRA’s Pubs & Wellbeing campaign, which you can visit here: http://www.camra.org.uk/pubs-wellbeing