Campaigners protest at Punch HQ to save pub

22-Aug-2019 - Last updated on 22-Aug-2019 at 09:05 GMT

Long history: the Rothschild Arms has been open since 1847

Campaigners are fighting to save a popular Buckinghamshire pub from closure by protesting outside its owner, Punch’s head office in Burton-upon-trent, Staffordshire.

The Rothschild Arms, in Aston Clinton, has been open since 1847 and is currently run by a local couple who live there with their children.

The pub hosts four darts teams, five pool teams, local scooter clubs, a football club and has been involved in supporting various charities. The locals have raised £15,000 so far to fight the decision to close the pub.

Level of investment

Punch CEO Clive Chesser said: “A group of customers from the Rothschild Arms, in Aston Clinton, visited our offices yesterday (21 August).

“I met with them for a conversation in our office to enable them to give me their views personally. In the past 12 months, we have invested £33.5m in significantly improving 284 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.

“This is one in four of our pubs and we plan to repeat this level of investment again over the next 12 months.

“Some 40 of these pubs have been in the south-east and we plan to invest a further £8m in this region in 2020.”

Unviable pubs

Chesser added Punch has also invested in a training academy, which has seen more than 550 people come through the doors.

He said: “At Punch, we are proud of our record of keeping pubs open and trading, only closing a small number of unviable pubs each year, despite challenging market conditions and increasing costs.

“We are proud to support the Long Live the Local campaign and of our track record in supporting local communities across the UK.

“I am pleased to continue this open dialogue and I have arranged for a follow-up meeting with the group’s nominated local representative next week.”