Bewail the disappearance of the “local”
Most people feel they no longer have a “local” (that is a local pub) at the heart of their community – that’s according to a recent survey by YouGov released in September 2013.
The majority of adults in the UK said there was no pub at the heart of their community (63 %) and no pub they would call their “local” (57 %). The results, which also show that 38 percent feel they do have a “local” and 5 percent are not sure, are uniform across gender, age and region, according to a recent poll conducted by YouGov.
According to Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 26 pubs now close across Britain every week, and most people who took the poll (53 %) said this decline is a bad thing, while 13 percent said they are pleased. A significant number (40 %) think pubs should run more events for the local community.
Restaurants are the most popular venue to meet people, with 35 % saying they go there most often to socialise. However, pubs are the second venue of choice (30 %), more popular than cafes (7 %), bars (4 %) and nightclubs (2 %).
The British public’s favourite type of pub is a "country pub" (43 %), with a cosy, quiet and countryside setting, followed closely by a "traditional pub" (38 %), with no frills, traditional décor and a local crowd – also the most popular establishment among 18-24 year olds.
A small number (15 %) say they prefer chain pubs – modern, inexpensive beer and no frills – although they are more popular among the young (26 %). The same number favour gastropubs, sports pubs (7 %) and "trendy pubs" (6 %) – pubs with craft beers, live music and a young crowd came out as the least popular.
It also seems that people are visiting pubs less often than they used to, with the majority (22 %) saying they only go to the pub "several times a year", while 16 percent visit pubs "a few times a month", 15 percent go "around once a month", 14 percent go "once a year or less" and 13 percent go "around once a week". Only 5 percent said they visit a pub several times a week and 11 percent say they never go to the pub. No one said they go to a pub every day.
The figures are based on a poll carried out by 1856 adults from the UK, it was reported.
