Friday, 3 February 2017

Another new pub for Southport

Marston's Guelder Rose opened in 2013
I've recently heard that Sefton MBC, our local council, has granted Marston's planning permission to build a new pub in Kew, right next to the 'Welcome to Southport' sign on the main road from the Ormskirk direction. Overall it's good news, especially at a time when British pubs are closing every week. While it will be a fully licensed pub, Marston's say it will be food-led and aimed mainly at "business people, the more mature diner, and families" with a play area for children outside. Its prominent position at the entrance to the town is likely to attract a lot of passing trade.

I doubt that it will develop as a local, and it will probably be rather like Marston's other newly-built pub in Southport, the Guelder Rose on the Southport sea front, which I wrote about when it opened in 2013. The new pub, like the Guelder Rose, is likely to stock a few real ales from the Martson's stable.

Is it an adequate replacement for all the old Victorian pubs that the town has lost in recent years? I don't think so, but then that's not the intention behind it.
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5 comments:

  1. Curmudgeon3 February 2017 at 14:06

    You or I may not be too keen, but that increasingly looks like the future for pubs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David Davies3 February 2017 at 15:23

    Marston's have opened a similar food led pub in Skelmersdale. It's called the Miner's Peg, sells beers from the Marston's stable, and is located next to ASDA.

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  3. RedNev3 February 2017 at 15:53

    CM: it's one future for pubs, and a growing one at that, but not the only one. At least, I hope not!

    David: this new pub is, of course, by Tesco and the Kew retail park. I'm sure that's not a coincidence, and further examples can be seen via the link in Curmudgeon's comment above.

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    Replies
    1. Curmudgeon4 February 2017 at 14:36

      In a sense it could be seen as a tribute to the enduring appeal of pubs as a concept that they choose to adopt the "body language" of pubs for what are primarily family restaurants.

      Delete
    2. RedNev4 February 2017 at 15:54

      Good point, although that's an unusually upbeat assessment for you, CM!

      Delete

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