Landlords are calling for tighter planning rules to protect dwindling numbers of pubs from being turned into shops.

The Woodman Inn in Colchester Road was the latest pub to close in Halstead on Saturday August 30, leaving six staff without jobs.

Latest figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) say 31 pubs in the UK have closed each week this year - five more a week than last year.

According to Braintree Council planning laws, pubs and shops fall under the same category, meaning developers do not need planning permission for a change of use.

Landlady at the Griffin pub in Parsonage Street Gilly Ryan said: “I think it’s a shame it doesn’t have to go to some sort of regulatory body or go through some sort of approval.

“It will change our whole heritage if shops keep taking over. If you look at Halstead, we used to have 32 pubs and now we have eight, one of them being Scenarios."

Cabinet member for Planning and Property at Braintree Council, Lady Patricia Newton, said:

“The council, as local planning authority,  has to follow national planning legislation which allows for certain changes of use without applying for planning permission. This means a pub can be turned into a convenience store without applying for planning permission, and we have seen this in a number of instances in the district over recent years.

“Whilst it is understandable that CAMRA are lobbying government to make changes to give greater control to local planning authorities, the current national consultation into planning reform is, in general, proposing more flexibility for changes of use, rather than creating restrictions.”

For the full story, see this week's Halstead Gazette.