Pub war breaks out again in Prestwick

Jul 2 2010 by Edwin Lawrence, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

Pub war breaks out again in Prestwick

A NEW pub war has beendeclared in Main Street, Prestwick.

And the same foes are lining up to do battle, just four months after a phoney war.

The invaders are J D Wetherspoon, owners of 780 UK pubs and now aiming to conquer Prestwick.

The defenders are Buzzworks, currently lords of all they survey from a glitzy stronghold known as Elliots.

Wetherspoon opened hostilities earlier this year by lodging a planning application to convert the old Woolworths into a 4000sq ft super-pub.

This prompted Buzzworks to fire a defensive broadside, submitting a plan to convert the old Broadway cinema – which they own – into a similar pub.

But the conflict was defused when Wetherspoon withdrew their application.

And peace was restored when Buzzworks followed suit.

But now belligerence is back in the air, with Wetherspoon re-lodging their bid.

And – surprise, surprise – Buzzworks have followed suit.

Buzzworks fully admit they are reacting to an invasion threat.

And director Kenny Blair said: “We are determined that if there is a market for a super-pub in Prestwick with a capacity of 350 selling cheap drink and food, then we as the local operators can do it better than a large national company.”

Mr Blair admits: “If JD Wetherspoon and Buzzworks both succeed in their applications, Prestwick will have an additional drinking capacity of 700 people.”

He says Buzzworks don’t want to go down that road.

And he added: “Obviously, some of the smaller pubs could be casualties if that was to happen.

“And it wouldn’t be good for the trade or the town.”

But J D Wetherspoon reject suggestions that their large pubs are necessarily the death knell for others.

They say a Wetherspoon can bring more people to an area, thereby generating more customers for other businesses.

And they say their pubs bring life back to buildings that could otherwise become abandoned and derelict.