Recent figures from the British Beer and Pub Association show that pubs will close at the rate of in the UK during 2025. This is just the latest chapter in a familiar story – more than a quarter of British pubs have closed since 2000.
The cost of running a pub has risen dramatically. The ingredients used to brew beer all cost more, as do the , rents, duties, utilities and required to operate a welcoming venue in which to serve it. Some publicans have reported in a matter of months.
Many pubs occupy prime locations and high-value buildings, which, coupled with larger floor space, mean relative to turnover and profit.
Meanwhile, food offerings which had provided many pubs with a profitable alternative to a drinks-only model have also been hit by rapid increases in costs. Supermarkets and delivery platforms now provide food and drink directly to consumers at prices few licensed venues can compete with. Even pubs that are economically viable are often more profitable converted into residential or retail space.
These economic challenges accompany wider cultural trends, such as the continued prevalence of home working, and competition from alternative forms of and leisure.
We’ve researched in England and Wales to learn what the loss of pubs means for the communities who drink and gather in them.
When pubs closed temporarily during COVID-19 lockdowns, many people realised that what they missed about pubs was not alcohol but the pubs provided. Pubs have a clear . They offer a space for people to and have been shown to help and social isolation.
Our research participants relayed stories of pub closure in relation to their own lives and communities:
"I’ve been consoled in there, I’ve consoled friends in there. We’ve chopped up family issues, work issues. We’ve drunk for the sake of drinking in there."
Pubs help people . When they close, they can become sites of mourning, a painful reminder of change and decline. One resident of a former colliery village in Nottinghamshire said of the pub she had once worked in – now derelict, fire damaged and vandalised as it awaits redevelopment – that despite her wish that it had remained open it was now better to “knock it down” to “put us out of our misery”.
Continues . . . .
For the full article by Dr Thomas Thurnell-Read and Dr Robert Deakin visit .
ENDS