All the pubs /bars in the Branch area have now been entered on our database. We can now say we have approximately five hundred and thirty licensed premises in the Branch area. Parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire are covered by York and Doncaster CAMRA Branches, and these pubs and bars are not included in our figures. If you add these to our area, then there may be nearer six hundred licensed premises in Hull and the East Riding.
Most of these are currently entered in name and location only. This has been the hardest part initially. It was easy to find the majority of them either in the local phone directory or via the internet; however there are certain pubs that were not listed anywhere, yet we know they exist and are currently trading. We now have the task of filling in all the blanks.
Most of the new licensed premises, in Hull anyway, in this day and age seem to be café or theme bars. There do not seem to be many pubs newly built, or reopened. Of course there are exceptions- the former Steam Tavern on Anlaby Road in Hull has reopened recently as the Premiere Bar.
CAMRA nationally wants a record of every public house in the country. We already know much about a lot of pubs; primarily those that sell real ale, but as trends or licensees change then we find new outlets for real ale, and sometimes sadly outlets that withdraw it from sale. The type of things we will keep on file include opening times, food availability, ownership, licensee, facilities and real ale availability; with regular beers, when known. The new licensing laws that came into force in November have given us a reason to check new opening hours.
The scaremongering that people will be able to drink twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week hasn't proved to be the case. Most pubs only want a few extra hours, mainly at weekends.
If you would like to know more about, or assist with this project, please contact Alan Canvess.