More than 230 pubs have shut their doors this year due to battle for customers turning to cheap supermarket booze
AROUND 40 pubs a month have called last orders in England and Wales this year, as cheaper supermarket booze and rising costs took their toll.
A total of 235 pubs vanished from communities in the six months to June, according to the latest research by property data company Altus Group.
A majority of these properties have either been demolished or they're being converted for other use, such as to homes or offices.
That leaves around 39,000 pubs in the UK, down from around 50,000 in 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest data from November 2018.
In the past 18 months 1,149 pubs shut their doors in England and Wales.
Many areas on the edges of big cities, and in the commuter belt, have seen the biggest declines in the number of pubs, according to the ONS.
Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Luton – all in and around London – now have fewer than half the pubs they did in 2001.
While the same goes for areas around Birmingham and Manchester.
In Wales, Torfaen (near Newport) was the area to have lost the most pubs, while in Scotland, East Renfewshire and East Ayrshire (both south of Glasgow) saw pub numbers decline the most.
But while pubs continue to disappear from high streets and local communities, the rate at which they are vanishing has slowed down on the back of government support, including a recent freeze on alcohol duty.
Last year, nearly twice as many pubs were closing with around 76 disappearing each month.
Pubs have come under pressure due to cheaper supermarket alcohol and changing leisure habits.
While they've also suffered from having to stump up higher business rates and an increase in minimum wage for staff.
Pubs are also under threat from chains. Earlier this month, for example, Stonegate - the firm behind the Slug and Lettuce, Walkabout, and Yates - bought rival chain EI, which has 4,000 pubs across the UK.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, says it is positive that the rate of closures has slowed down but adds that too many pubs have already been forced to shut.
She said: "Cost pressures, principally extortionate business rates, are pushing too many pubs to the margins and high streets are being squeezed.
"We have heard various members of the government say they wish to stimulate investment in high streets and support businesses.
"If they are serious, then they need to tackle these increasing costs - otherwise, more pubs will close."
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But Alex Probyn, president of expert services at Altus, says government measures to support the future of pubs may be having an impact.
He said: "Since legislative changes in May 2017, pubs looking to respond to the changing market have been able to expand their food offer without the cost and uncertainty of having to apply for planning permission.
"Meanwhile, local communities, through the community right to bid provisions, now have a say on the future of their local by the listing of a public house as an asset of community value, which results in an automatic removal of the permitted development rights for its demolition or change of use."
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