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‘Rage against the dying of the light’: historical Welsh landmarks given £700K

Despite a vast number of pubs being forced to shut their doors across England and Wales one particular venue has received £300K.

Amongst three other projects, a pub which was frequented by legendary poet Dylan Thomas, known as the Vale of Aeron, is set to receive £770,057 in government funding to keep them open for future generations.

The money, of which £300,000 will be given to the famous watering hole, will be coming from the Community Ownership Fund which supports treasured institutions such as pubs, museums, and sports clubs across the UK so they can be run by the community, for the community.

In addition to money being given to the Vale of Aeron, £187,557 will also be given to the Judge’s Lodging Museum in Powys to preserve the historic old court building and sustain its financial resilience.

‘We are proud to be supporting people to take control of their local assets,’ said David TC Davies, Welsh secretary. ‘Levelling up is at the centre of the UK government’s ambitions and communities across Wales will be transformed over the coming years as this funding continues.’

However, news of a pub being supported in Wales has come as a shock. Last week official statistics found around 230 pubs closed across England and Wales in the second quarter of this year.

Research highlighted that pubs are closing at the rate of two per day and the number of closures has risen by 50% from 153 during the three months prior. One of the main reasons for pubs shutting their doors at such a rapid rate is the costs of running them have soared alongside consumers finding themselves with limited disposable income and unable to afford a pint.

Previously, the government have made attempts to save arguably, the UK’s favourite places. In his spring budget, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a tax relief of 11p on draught drinks served in pubs from 1st August. However, although Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association welcomed the relief at the time, she claimed it would not be enough.  

Images: Gabriel Kiener and Getty Images/Popperfoto

More on this topic:

Budget shortfalls forced £15bn of public assets to be sold by English councils

Justice for pubs: planning laws must change to protect historic buildings 

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