Overview
- Communities Secretary Steve Reed unveiled the measures on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, announcing a £61 million Community Right to Buy Fund and new powers for local groups to register interest in pubs and other assets.
- The new legal powers will let community groups signal an interest and get a first opportunity to purchase valued venues before they are offered on the open market.
- Trade body UKHospitality estimates 2,077 venues are at risk of closure, including 540 pubs, and warns hotels face large business‑rates rises that the fund does not directly address.
- Ministers say the fund forms part of a wider hospitality package that also includes longer pub opening hours for the World Cup and pledges to cut regulatory burdens on operators.
- The fund aims to help communities preserve meeting places and local services, but campaigners and industry leaders say details on eligibility and how the cash will be allocated must be published soon and that broader rate and cost issues still pose major risks.