Pub closures climb towards six a day

19th January 2009, 11:55am

A record 39 pubs a week closed in Britain in the last six months of 2008, according to new figures from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

The figure is up on the 36 a week (5 a day) that closed in the first half of 2008.

It means that in total, 1,973 pubs closed their doors for the last time in 2008, some 40% higher than in 2007.

The BBPA said this figure will continue to rise unless the government loosens its grip on alcohol taxes and red-tape.

The organisation also suggested that schemes such as the mandatory code, to be debated in Parliament today, will see job losses escalate.

With Britain's pubs closing almost ten times faster than they were in 2006, Rob Hayward, chief executive of the BBPA, explained what needs to be done: "These stark new numbers show how wrong the Government was in not offering the pub trade a stimulus in the Pre-Budget Report along with every other part of the UK economy. They also show how much Government thinking on alcohol taxes and regulation must change if community pubs are to be saved for future generations.

"The Government's plans to increase alcohol duty by 40% over the next four years must be looked at again. They must drop plans for a duty escalator and recognise the damage it will do to communities, to business, to jobs and to the taxpayer.

"These numbers must be both the industry's and consumers' rallying call for change – making sure the Government understands how important pubs are to local communities."

Related Articles:

• 13 Jul 2010 - Pub insolvencies drop by a third
• 14 May 2009 - Mandatory alcohol code is simply 'more red tape' for pubs
• 15 Apr 2009 - MPS oppose beer tax rise
• 03 Apr 2009 - Over 1,130 pubs owned by pubcos have closed
• 10 Mar 2009 - BBPA chief steps down after 10 years
• 04 Mar 2009 - Record number of pubs closing

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