There has been a significant decline in the number of pubs in rural areas of the UK in the past decade. The disappearance of these places has a dramatic impact on rural communities, as village and rural pubs work as a network tier for the entire area by providing opportunities in terms of community engagement, business connections and employment. The study presented in this paper investigates issues related to the decline of pubs in Cumbria, North West of England. The authors examine data gathered from secondary sources and primary research, including interviews with pub owners, managers and customers. This enables detailed analysis of factors of success and failure including initiatives taken by communities to conserve their pubs. Combining a community focus with economic and entrepreneurial approaches presents the value of village pubs in a new light, offering suggestions for alternative means of supporting them. Results indicate that more active involvement from local communities and public sector bodies is required to ensure the future of pubs and other rural assets that provide value to their communities.
AkgunABaycan-LeventTNijkampP (2011) Roles of local and newcomer entrepreneurs in rural development: A comparative meta-analysis. Regional Studies45(9): 1207–1223.
AndrewsDTurnerS (2012) Is the pub still the hub?International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality and Management24(4): 1–11.
4.
AttertonJ (2007) The ‘Strength of Weak Ties’: Social networking by business owners in the highlands and islands of Scotland. Sociologia Ruralis47(3): 228–245.
5.
BesserTL (2009) Changes in small town capital and civic engagement. Journal of Rural Studies25: 185–193.
6.
Brewers and Licensed Retailers Association (2000) The Number of Pubs in the UK, London: BLRA.
7.
British Beer and Pubs Association (2008) Statistical Handbook – A compilation of drinks industry statistics, London: Brewing Publication Limited.
8.
British Beer and Pubs Association (2010) Statistical Handbook – A compilation of drinks industry statistics, London: Brewing Publication Limited.
9.
British Beer and Pubs Association (2012) Statistical Handbook – A compilation of drinks industry statistics, London: Brewing Publication Limited.
10.
BosworthG (2009) Education, mobility and rural business development. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development16(4): 660–677.
11.
BrownJ (2008) Community Investment: Using Industrial and Provident Society Legislation, Manchester: Cooperatives UK.
12.
CabrasI (2011a) Industrial and Provident Societies and Village Pubs: Exploring Community Cohesion in Rural Britain. Environment and Planning A43(10): 2435–2451.
13.
CabrasI (2011b) Mapping the spatial patterns of public procurement: A case study from a peripheral local authority in Northern England. International Journal of Public Sector Management24(3): 187–205.
14.
CabrasI (2013) The potential for rural cooperatives in the UK. In: BosworthGSomervilleP (eds) Chapter 4 in Interpreting Rurality; Multidisciplinary Approaches, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 54–70.
15.
CabrasIReggianiC (2010) Village pubs as a social propellant in rural areas: An econometric study. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management53(7): 947–962.
16.
CamagniR (1991) Local ‘milieu’, uncertainty and innovation networks: Towards a new dynamic theory of economic space. In: CamagniR (ed). Innovation Networks, London: Belhaven Press.
17.
Campaign for Real Ale (2013) Cumbria CAMRA Branches Pubs Database. Available at: www.cumbriacamra.org.uk/spile/ (accessed 5 November 2013).
18.
ChampionTBrownD (2012) Migration and Urban-Rural Population Redistribution in the UK and US. In: ShucksmithMBrownDShortallSVergunstJWarnerM (eds) Rural Transformations and Rural Policies in the US and UK, London: Routledge, pp. 39–57.
19.
ChellENicolopoulouKKaratas-OzkanM (2010) Social entrepreneurship and enterprise: International and innovation perspectives. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development22(6): 485–493.
20.
CooperativeUK (2012) The UK Co-operative Economy 2012. Alternatives to Austerity, Manchester: Cooperative UK.
GranovetterM (1985) Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology91(3): 481–510.
23.
HeleyJ (2011) On the potential of being a village boy: An argument for local rural ethnography. Sociologia Ruralis51(3): 219–237.
24.
HessM (2004) Spatial relationships? Towards a reconceptualization of embeddedness. Progress in Human Geography28(2): 165–186.
25.
Institute for Public Policy Research (2012) Pubs and Places: The Social Value of Community Pubs. London: IPPR. ISBN: 9781860303234.
26.
JackSLAndersonAR (2002) The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Business Venturing17: 467–487.
27.
JohannissonBRamirez-PasillasMKarlssonG (2002) The institutional embeddedness of local inter-firm networks: A leverage for business creation. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development14: 297–315.
28.
KalantaridisCBikaZ (2006a) In-migrant entrepreneurship in rural England: Beyond local embeddedness. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development18: 109–131.
29.
KalantaridisCBikaZ (2006b) Local embeddedness and rural entrepreneurship: Case-study evidence from Cumbria, England. Environment and Planning A38: 1561–1579.
30.
KingsnorthP (2008) Real England; The Battle Against the Bland, London: Portobello Books.
31.
LichterDTBrownD (2011) Rural America in an urban society: Changing spatial and social boundaries. Annual Review of Sociology37: 565–592.
32.
LincolnG (2006) Diversification in rural pubs: A strategy for survival and community value?International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business3(3/4): 329–347.
33.
LittunenH (2000) Entrepreneurship and the characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research6(6): 295–309.
34.
MaleckiEJOinasP (1999) Making Connections: Technological Learning and Regional Economic Change, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.
35.
MarkhamC (2013) The Rural Public House: Cultural Icon or Social Hub? In: BosworthGSomervilleP (eds) Chapter 18 in Interpreting Rurality; Multidisciplinary Approaches, Routledge: Abingdon.
36.
MayoERossJ (2009) Calling Time on Pub Closures: The Cooperative Answer, Woodstock: Plunkett FoundationAvailable at: offline.cooperatives-uk.coop/live/images/cme_resources/Public/Publications/Calling-Time.pdf (accessed 2 July 2012).
37.
MurdochJ (2000) Networks – a new paradigm of rural development?Journal of Rural Studies16: 407–419.
38.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) Community Cohesion: Seven Steps, London: ODPM.
39.
Oldenburg R (1989) The Great Good Place, New York: Marlowe and Company.
40.
OsborneSTrickerM (2000) Village Appraisals: A tool for sustainable community development in rural areas in the UK?Local Economy14(4): 346–356.
41.
OwenDGreenA (1992) Migration patterns and trends. In: ChampionTFieldingT (eds) Migration Processes and Patterns, Volume 1 Research Prospects and Progress, London: Belhaven, pp. 17–38.
Plunkett Foundation (2011) Review of Rural Social Enterprise in England, Woodstock: Plunkett Foundation.
44.
PrattenJ (2004) Examining the possible causes of business failure in British public houses. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management16(4): 246–252.
45.
PrattenJ (2005) Rent and the lessee. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management17(2): 147–156.
46.
PrattenJ (2007a) The development of the modern UK public house – Part 2: Sign of change to the UK public house 1959–1989. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management19(6): 513–519.
47.
PrattenJ (2007b) The development of the modern UK public house – Part 3: The emergence of the modern public house 1989–2005. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management19(7): 612–618.
48.
PrattenJLovattC (2002) Can the rural pub survive? A challenge for management or a lost cause?Management Research News25(1): 60–72.
49.
RosenfeldS (1996) Does co-operation enhance competitiveness? Assessing the impacts of inter-firm collaboration. Research Policy25: 247–263.
SonninoRGriggs-TrevarthenC (2013) A resilient social economy? Insights from the community food sector in the UK. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development25(3/4): 272–292.
52.
StillwellJHussainSNormanP (2008) The internal migration propensities and net migration patterns of ethnic groups in Britain. Migration Letters135(2): 135–150.
Van VugtMHartCM (2004) Social identity as social glue: The origin of group loyalty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology86(4): 585–598.
59.
Walker N (2013) British pubs raise over £100 million for charity in the last year. Press release 1 July. Available at: www.camra.org.uk/article.php?group_id=10452 (accessed 12 October 2013).
60.
WatsonTJWatsonDH (2012) Narrative in society, organizations and individual identities. An ethnographic study of pubs, identity work and the pursuit of ‘the real’. Human Relations65(6): 683–704.
61.
WestwoodA (2011) Localism, social capital and the Big Society. Local Economy26(8): 690–701.
62.
WoodinTCrockDCarpentierV (2010) Community and Mutual Ownership: A Historical Review, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
63.
WorleyC (2009) It’s not about race. It's about the community’: New Labour and ‘community cohesion’. Critical Social Policy25(4): 483–496.
64.
ZeuliKFreshwaterDMarkleyD (2004) Cooperative in rural community development: A new framework for analysis. Journal of Community Development Society35(2): 17–35.
65.
ZeuliKRadelJ (2005) Cooperatives as a community development strategy: Linking theory and practice. Regional Analysis and Policy35(1): 34–54.
