Industry leaders have thrown their weight behind the former Top Gear host and believe his insight into buying and renovating his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, could help save our boozers from closure
Jeremy Clarkson has been hailed as the saviour of the Great British pub.
Leading industry figureheads believe the former Top Gear frontman could save our boozers from closure and become the hero of the pint.
Industry figures say they hope that what he has done for farmers could be replicated with the nation’s pub landlords, thanks to the new series of his farming show.
In Clarkson’s Farm, Jeremy can be seen turning a knackered old boozer into a thriving pub, after looking at dozens in the Cotswolds.
The pub he picked, formerly known as The Windmill, is located in Burford in Oxfordshire and was reopened by Clarkson last August as The Farmer’s Dog.
Clarkson sells his own Hawkstone lager in the venue and wanted to have all of the produce sold there grown or reared by British farmers.
Beer bosses say he’s shining a light on “just how many” boozers are currently “vacant or available” after numbers plummeted by a quarter from 60,000 to 45,000 since the year 2000.
Clarkson said of his new venture: “There are so many things that you discover about opening and running a pub that you wouldn’t even consider. It is harder than running a farm.”
It is feared the number of empty boozers around the country will continue to rise, if people are not made aware of just dire the situation currently is for landlords struggling to make a living with rising costs and falling footfall.
Wetherspoon chief Tim Martin hopes it’ll also finally make the Government realise how urgent the situation is and reduce taxes on pubs.
He said: “Thanks to Clarkson’s report from the front line, the plight of pubs is becoming clear.”
UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls added: “What Clarkson is demonstrating is this is the most highly taxed, highly regulated sector of the economy, and we’re taxing too many businesses out of existence altogether.”
And other beer leaders say we need to be careful that we are not losing something really special from our neighbourhoods.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: “What’s stark about his search for his pub is just how many pubs are vacant or available.
“As Clarkson says, ‘What would a village be without its village pub? It would just be a collection of houses.’”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
