From http://www.kentonline.co.uk 10 April 2008.

Back street pubs fighting a losing battle.

End of era for Medway's back street pubs.

Take a walk around the back streets of Medway and it won’t be long before you come across a boarded-up, derelict pub.

It seems time is being called on the traditional street-corner boozer for good.

These one-time hubs of the community are fast disappearing.

In the last decade, dozens of pubs in the Towns have shut their doors permanently – more than 20 have closed in the past five years.

Nationally, an average of 57 fold every month.

Last month saw the closure of one of Medway’s best-loved pubs, the Roseneath, in Arden Street, Gillingham.

Landlady Helen Dodson called last orders for the final time after 20 years behind the bar.

She said: “People just don’t want to go to backstreet pubs any more. It’s not about seeing a friendly publican behind the bar.

“People go to theme pubs with their families and to eat.

“Things have changed so much. The smoking ban didn’t help either – my sort of pub is just dying out these days.”

It is a trend noticed by publicans across the Towns.

David Gould, landlord of the "Frog and Toad," Burnt Oak Terrace, Gillingham, is fighting a decline in trade.

“At one stage we were getting 50 or 60 people a night, now we’re lucky if we get 10. We’re fighting a losing battle.”