SIR – Scrapping the beer duty escalator and cutting beer duty for the first time in a generation is welcomed but hardly warrants a call for pubs to celebrate.
One penny off a pint of beer won’t see droves of customers returning to their locals as they can buy their favourite tipple much cheaper elsewhere and drink it at home while watching TV.
Thousands of pubs have had to close their doors for good, but Punch Taverns is seeking permission to build houses on land around hotels like the Black Swan in Frizinghall and the Red Lion on Manchester Road, saying it is a way of keeping business open.
However, Camra (Campaign For Real Ale) claims that “squashing” houses round pubs and doing away with space will make them less attractive (T&A, April 6).
I hope Punch Taverns are given the green light, otherwise we could end up with more dilapidated eyesores like the one on Manchester Road that was once the New Inn.
David Rhodes, Croscombe Walk, Bradford
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