Historical report: the event or rule change described below dates to 14 January 2026. This article was researched and published by Pub Social on 10 October 2026; it was not published at the time of the event.
The people behind Hull’s New Clarence received national recognition on 14 January 2026 when CAMRA announced that Hull Community Pub Society had won its 2025 Pub Saving Award.
The achievement carries two distinctions: CAMRA identified the New Clarence as Hull’s first community-owned pub and the first city-centre pub to win the award. Both are meaningful in a sector where retaining pub premises for community use can be difficult.
Why saving a city pub is different
CAMRA highlighted the challenge created by the commercial value of city-centre land. A pub competing with alternative property uses faces pressures that differ from those encountered in villages, making the New Clarence campaign a particularly notable example of collective action.
Community ownership also changes the conversation about what a pub is for. Beyond serving drinks, a local can provide an accessible meeting point and a place where relationships develop over years. Saving the building preserves the possibility of those connections continuing.
A wider heritage story
In the same round of announcements, CAMRA recognised the Vine in Pittshill, Stoke-on-Trent, with a Heritage Award. The two honours reflect different parts of pub preservation: one celebrates the people who secure a venue’s future; the other highlights the importance of historic character.
Original source
Read the underlying announcement or official guidance: CAMRA.
Photograph: illustrative real-ale handpumps at an English pub; not the venue described in this report.
