Three cheers for The Bevy: Brighton's only community pub

The Bevendean (affectionately known as The Bevy) is the only community pub in Brighton, and the only estate-owned community pub in the country.

The pub was initially shut down in 2010 following a long history of violence and anti-social behaviour. However, the local community recognised it's importance as the only pub for the 18,000 people living on the estate.

Residents spent the next few years fundraising and restoring the pub to turn in into a space for all the locals to use.

In 2014 the pub finally re-opened after raising 50,000 from over 700 local people to serve the community and act as a communal space for all. Last month The Bevy was nominated for the 'Best Community Pub' award by the Great British Pub Awards.

We got in touch with chairman of The Bevy committee, Warren Carter to see what he had to say about The Bevy and Brighton pubs.

He has been a part of the campaign since the beginning as part of the group which started the cause to save the pub.

Warren stresses the importance of The Bevy as he says: "We are the UK's only community estate-owned pub. A lot of them are in rural, well-off villages, we are the only working class one. We are a community space that is needed in these kind of areas’"

Bevendean is a far-cry from some of the more well-off areas in Brighton and Hove as it is an area in the top five percent of deprivation in the country.

"We’ve got a space to use from 10am to 11pm, it’s a multi-functional space. We can have a meeting space, a space for a cafe. You need to listen to the community and find out what’s missing. That’s what we’re trying to do, to bring as many people together as possible."

The Bevy is the home to all manner of clubs, groups and facilities including: a choir, a Friday lunch club for seniors and a training kitchen for budding young chefs.

When asked how he felt about the state of pubs in the centre of town, Warren said: "I don’t think there are really pubs in Brighton, most of them are just bars"

Warren was ken to point out these pubs, or bars as he describes them, cater to the passing trade, student and tourists and that while these are more financially successful they don't have the same community spirit as pubs like The Bevy.

He added: "Here people know each other. You can go into some pubs one day then the next day come back and you won’t recognise anyone’s face from the day before. If you stopped turning up nobody would care."

"If you walked into a pub in town and asked for a loo roll because you needed one, they'd tell you to go away. People look out for each other here."

Community pubs are proving a popular choice for people who want to put a stop to the decline of traditional British pubs. The Bevy is just one of many success stories in this growing trend in the UK.

However it isn't necessarily the easiest route to go down, as over seventy percent of groups who set out to set up a community venture do not take, or are unable to take their plans through to fruition.

Yet as the UK continues to lose on average 21 pubs a week, it is unclear how this decline can be tackled most effectively.

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What is a community pub?

Community pubs are pubs that are owned and run by the local community. According to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) there are currently around 70 of them in the UK.

When a pub has been shut down or is under threat to be closed the local community can all put in funds to become shareholders or look for outsiders to invest in the pub and then run it themselves.

The not-for-profit organisation Pub is The Hub say: "Community ownership plays an important role, because, when a much-loved or neglected pub closes or goes up for sale, it can often be one of the last community services in the area."

Community pubs can be used as a space to provide the facilities that he community decides they need the most. These can be groups for the elderly, a launderette, or a cafe whilst still keeping traditional pub features like a darts team.

CAMRA have urged people to list their local as an 'Asset of Community Value' as a means of protection if the pub were to come under threat. The law now dictates that planning permission is required if a pub is to be demolished, and ACVs were up until recently one of the only means to secure this protection.

Over two years campaigners successfully listed over 2,000 pubs as ACVs across England.