Legion club calls time at the bar (From The Argus)

Legion club calls time at the bar

10:51am Thursday 17th April 2008 in

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A club for ex-servicemen and women has been forced to close.

Liquidation proceedings have begun in court for the Burgess Hill Royal British Legion Club in Cyprus Road after members voted to wind up the business.

Officials in the legion said this week the club had found it hard to maintain trade, with rising taxes on alcohol and the effects of the smoking ban.

Michael Paine, Sussex officer for the Royal British Legion, said: "It is well known that the high street is an extremely difficult place to do business.

"There are always pressures on the licensed trade and the Royal British Legion clubs are part of that."

The club shut its doors after 258 members packed a meeting to make the decision.

There had been a queue stretching along the road to get into the club to be part of the vote.

Officials said it would become a New Legion Club, run by a commercial company linked to the legion but operating separately from its charitable base. Mr Paine pointed out that the legion and the club were separate entities.

He said the Burgess Hill branch of the legion was still running successfully.

Other branches and clubs across the country have been forced to close because of a shortage of numbers, caused in part by veterans dying or becoming unable to participate.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion said the clubs in Britain were closing at a rate of one a fortnight, with about 700 remaining.

He added: "The most common cause of closure is lack of trade.

"There is simply not enough money going over the counter to keep the clubs open. It's partly to do with membership and the condition of our estate.

"We have too many clubs that aren't in good repair and don't stand up to competition from other places where people spend their leisure pound.

"We've also been hit by the smoking ban, as all other pubs and clubs have been."

New Legion Clubs will be more like commercial pubs, with hot and cold food on offer at lunchtimes and Sky Sports, pool and WiFi internet.

The spokesman said: "We spend quite a lot of money on them. They're professionally managed and modern, with good service.

"It has a better chance of turning a profit, and gives us a better shop window for delivering our welfare services and providing a social hub for the community."

No one from the Burgess Hill branch was available to comment.

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