Dear Michael,

Concerns regarding High Street Rental Auctions and the potential loss of pubs

We are writing to express our concern about the proposals for High Street Rental Auctions, to be introduced as part the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. These proposals, as currently drafted, pose a serious threat to pubs in towns and cities.

We understand the rationale for the idea of the High Street Rental Auctions and indeed for premises other than pubs, we support the aims of this part of the legislation, to bring empty shops on high streets/town and city centres back into use. However, including pubs in this in the same way will cause the unnecessary loss of viable, indeed profitable, town and city centre pubs and indeed, could assist cynical owners and developers who want to replace a pub with more lucrative usage, even though the pub is perfectly profitable and indeed, a hugely important (and often historic) part of a high street/town centre and vital to its character and broad appeal…