THE heir to the throne is far from a typical pub customer. Even though hundreds of pubs are named after him, the Prince of Wales is rarely seen at the bar, although he did pop into the Blacksmiths Arms in Naburn for a whisky during his post-flood visit last year.

Despite this lack of experience, the Prince is well aware of the importance of the public house, particularly in rural Britain. In North Yorkshire today - a county that has lost more than its fair share of pubs - he made his support clear for the village local.

Prince Charles launched the Countryside Agency's report The Pub Is The Hub, the most comprehensive study yet of the decline of rural public houses. This found that, for the first time since the Norman Conquest, more than half of England's villages are without a source of cheap drink. And the situation is getting worse: country pubs are closing at the rate of six a week.

The reasons for this decline are manifold. Social trends; the corporate demand for higher profits; drink-drive laws.

So what can be done? The Countryside Agency is calling on pubs to diversify to survive, a move endorsed by Prince Charles.

Where rural pubs still exist, they are often the only community service left. Seven out of ten villages have no shop; post offices are even rarer.

Pubs that look beyond the basic provision of beer and sandwiches, and expand to offer other services such as a shop or post office, have a far better chance of survival. Those that cater for the under-18s with a family room away from the bar, or which open earlier as a coffee shop, will attract more custom.

There are some thriving village pubs in North Yorkshire. These do well because the landlord has used energy and imagination to make his premises the heart of the community. Lessons can and must be learned from their success to revive the fortunes of the village pub.

Updated: 10:47 Monday, December 17, 2001