Residents plan to protest pub closure
Residents of a Shropshire market town angry at a brewery firm are to hold a protest outside their village pub that has just been closed.
The Pipe Makers Arms in Broseley was shut last weekend, and villagers have branded its closure a "travesty".
They have slammed pub chain Punch Pubs for what increasing its rents too much, forcing local landlady Kerry Ford to quit.
The pub chain has defended the closure, saying it had supported the publican but she had chosen to vacate the pub.
A spokesperson added: “We would like to reassure the community that we are actively recruiting for a new publican."
Rod Willis, who runs Rod Willis Fine Art in nearby Jackfield, said the protest on Friday evening was to show Punch "the depth of our feeling about the appalling way they are strangling the Pipe Makers Arms".
Taking to Facebook, he said: "We have a marvellous High Street, and those other shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants, all know the importance of the other links in the chain. We are protesting for their futures as a whole, as much as we are for the pub.
"So if you want to see the High Street decline, and your community dispirited and fragmented, then please stay in your chair. The rest of us will be outside the Pipe Makers Arms at 5:45pm on this Friday, March 1."
He said they planned to march down to the grand old Duke of York, another closed pub run by Punch.
He continued: "Kerry always envisaged the pub as a family friendly venue, so please bring your kids-they love nothing more than bailing off their screens and breathing clean, fresh air."
