People are investing in inner city pubs, but can they succeed?

Jenna Morris is determined to keep her 200-year-old inner city pub alive.

Her husband bought the Spring Bank Tavern on the edge of Hull city centre 14 years ago when it was, she says, "pretty much derelict".

For the past five years it has hosted a rock venue run by a tenant, but now Morris has taken it over and is leading a refurbishment costing about £50,000.

She is one of three owners who told the BBC they were investing in traditional pubs in a part of Hull where many others have fallen by the wayside over the past few decades.

"It's like our baby really. We want to preserve it, we want to keep the history there," she says.

"I think it does mean more to us than it would to the general public coming in because it is our building.

"We just want to freshen it up a little bit, and do stuff that needed doing on the building to preserve it and keep it going for another possibly 200 years."

Nationally, about 360 pubs will have closed their doors by the end of this year, equating to almost one a day, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

It said 27 had closed across Yorkshire and the Humber region since January.

Two decades ago, the Spring Bank Tavern faced competition from at least four other venues nearby, but all have fallen by the wayside.

Morris said she was aware of the challenges facing the industry, but "owed it to the building" to preserve it.

"It's always in the back of your mind, but again, if you don't try, you don't know. I think it's worth the risk."

Half a mile away on the northern edge of the city centre stands another traditional pub, The New County.

New landlord Richard Hall is an architect by trade and says he had "no intention" of taking over the venue until he was asked by the owner of the building to see if he thought it could be turned into a shop (a nearby pub, the East Riding Hotel, was given planning permission to do just that in 2025).

"I told him it should stay as a pub," Hall says. "He said, 'Well, will you run it?' and I said, Yeah, I'll have a go."

After two months of renovations, the pub reopened in July.

"There's a lot more to do than you think there is when you are stood at the other side of the bar having a pint. But we're turning a corner, we are getting people in."

Hall says he has learned the importance of investing in entertainment to attract customers – including screening live sport, karaoke and live music.

He says seeking feedback has been key, as well as staying open until the last person leaves.

"You can't just open the doors and expect people to come and drink, because there's loads of places they can drink.

"It's about setting your pub up to the people who are going to be coming in."

With the Budget just days away, Hall thinks life would be easier if VAT was cut and measures introduced to make supermarket alcohol prices "more in line with drinking out".

In July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged to cut business rates for pubs by 20% from April 2027. The BBPA says this will be "a significant help" – but would also like to see a freeze to beer duty and a review of employment costs for under-25s, among other measures.

A Treasury spokesperson said the rates cut would save "thousands of locals over £1,000 a year".

A short walk to the south, The New Clarence offers what its trustees believe could be a sustainable model for the future.

When the pub closed in 2023, plans were submitted to convert the building into a house of multiple occupation (HMO), prompting a campaign to save the venue.

The Hull Community Pub Society was formed in January 2024 and went on to buy the building last year, after receiving a £300,000 government grant and raising about £250,000 from supporters. It now has more than 600 members.

Just over a year on from reopening, chairman Simon Berry says the pub is now profitable.

"We've got a lot of people owning a brick each, as we say. That's what's exciting about it. If you own something, you're more likely to come and use it."

The society is now trying to raise money to refurbish the upstairs and create a community function room.

Daren Hale, a trustee and Labour councillor, says they are "confident" about the future.

"It works for lots of pubs in lots of villages and towns, and even on Scottish islands.

"We think there is a space for perhaps this model in urban areas and cities as well."

Given that it is much cheaper to drink at home, Hale believes pubs need to diversify to appeal to customers.

"They're going to have to offer those meeting spaces, they're going to have to offer those activities that you perhaps can't get [elsewhere]."

It is a view echoed by the local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Andy Currie, the branch chairman, "absolutely" thinks pubs can thrive.

"In order for a pub to succeed, it's got to offer more than just, we are open, come and buy a drink, drink it and go home.

"There's got to be more activities, for instance, for people to do.

"You've just got to offer something different – for Camra, it needs to be good-quality cask ale."

For his part, Hall is bullish about the future.

"If people want to have a go at [running] a pub, I'd do it," he says.

"They're saying the pub trade is knackered, but it will be if we don't change something."

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