Why are so many pubs closing down?

[Spangles1963]

I was listening to a radio phone-in programme last night about the number of pubs in Britain closing down. Apparently it's an average of 20 per week! Now,I'm not a regular pub visitor nowadays,although I was in my twenties and early thirties (in my mid 50s now).I probably go to a Wetherspoons about once every couple of months these days. But I was shocked to hear this figure quoted. At this rate,there'll be none left within a few years. Just out of interest,I did a tally of how many pubs I could think of in the area I live that have closed down in the last few years. It was 8! Various factors have been blamed for the demise of pubs,from the smoking ban,to the availability of cheap alcohol in supermarkets. What do MNers think is the reason,and has anyone else noticed so many pubs closing down near where they live?

If you stop going somewhere you enjoy because you've been told you can't pollute the air in everyone else's lungs so should step outside that's actually quite sad

Doesn’t make make it any less true though does it?

Also you can’t just step outside either as you see on here when the sun comes out and people start their whining about eating outside

The reasons I don't tend to go to the pub are:

• Can't go after work, everyone lives in different places miles away so all have to drive
• Can't go with friends, we all live in different places based on where we work / what we can afford (I really hope I make some neighbour friends when I move!)
• Not a single pub in my are ever has live music - licensing laws and reluctance to pay musicians is an issue so all you get is karaoke or open mic nights (if you're lucky)
• Most don't even have a jukebox, I like music or an atmosphere when I'm out
• No other entertainment - what I wouldn't give for something like a comedy act.
• A lot of pubs have removed pool tables and dart boards
• So many are trying to do overpriced burger and chips in a shoe and cram tables in close together with tiny chairs to sell as much badly cooked food as possible.
• Nowhere to smoke - I'm ok with the smoking ban but it's cold and it rains in England. Any with a decent, sheltered garden with heaters are instantly popular.
• As others have mentioned, Brewery Monopolies are disgusting and driving pubs to ruin.

I'm 26 and I would love to go to a local pub and catch up with friends. Without the public transport and any form of entertainment, it doesn't seem worth it. At home I regularly have game nights with drinking, very fun.

And no actually, we aren't all "not interested in real life soclialising", we're just saving every penny we have to be able to afford somewhere to live so when we get somewhere we are going to bloody enjoy it.

I'm surprised people link it to the smoking ban actually.
It seems to accelerate an existing trend. I read article below PP linked to.

Yet the one factor that correlates most closely with the accelerating decline in the pub industry is the smoking ban.

There is plenty of international evidence for these sorts of effects, as well as the experience of what happened closer to home. As Snowdon points out, the number of pubs fell by 11pc in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales within the first four years of their bans, even though they were imposed at different times and during different economic climates, suggesting a remarkably similar impact.

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11283995/The-real-reasons-for-the-tragic-demise-of-the-British-pub-industry.html

as i said earlier several of my friends are smokers, none mind stepping outside for a ciggie and when questioned by a lifelong non smoker like me they say its nicer now, that they didn't like how smoky and smelly pubs used to be.

We all still go to pubs regularly , spoilt for choice where i live. My daughters friends are early-mid 20s, they also go to pubs , but they pre drink at home before clubs. Pubs are for seeing bands , catching up with friends and getting some vegan or street food, games nights, listening to music etc. In other words value added . Drinks alone don't cut it.

Can't go after work, everyone lives in different places miles away so all have to drive

This I think has an impact as well - commuting distances have shot up over last few decades it adds a lot of time to people's working weeks.

Somewhere I know in the wilds of Glos there's a Local Pub for Local People,which never acknowledged the smoking ban. Packed with locals, it is. Packed

Pubs are for seeing bands , catching up with friends and getting some vegan or street food, games nights, listening to music etc. In other words value added . Drinks alone don't cut it.

I've read articles that suggest clothes shops are seeing similar with the growth of on-line shopping - people want more of an experience.

bigKiteFlying

Even in your extract it says in the first four years.

We are 11 yr on from the smoking ban, its unrealistic to say that it is still shutting down pubs.

Aviator SHUT UP!!!!!

I was a barmaid for years. The regular bread and butter customers were almost all males 45-65. They come in after work, have 4-5 pints over a few hours and go home. Every day. Those customers are ageing/getting ill/dying and are not being replaced as there has been a shift in drinking culture.

The other regular group were sports teams- darts, bowls, pool etc. Again usually older and becoming less popular.

Plus the smoking ban and cost of rents and drinks etc.

Pubs have been in decline for decades. The smoking ban was a huge blow to the industry, as were large increases in business rates and tax.

There has also been huge social changes. Millions of men used to work in factories and mines, and after a hard day’s physical graft they would stop off at the local on their way home from work for a couple of pints with the lads. That world has gone.

Price is obviously a factor, too. Supermarkets use alcohol as a loss leader to drive footfall. They make little or no profit on selling a bottle of spirits or a case of beer for £10 on promotion. People can now sit on their nice sofa watching Netflix or Sky sports on their 60 inch ultra HD surround sound home cinema system while drinking beer which costs a quarter of the pub price.

The pubs that are doing well are mainly pub restaurants, which attract those people who didn't like the smokey atmosphere in the past. They're also more family friendly, which obviously doesn't please some people, but the pubs need them to come in. Hence the soft play areas and playgrounds, as well as kids' menus.

BoneyBackJefferson I also pointed out it acclerated an existing trend.

It made something that was already happening happen faster for four years afterwards. I never said it was a direct cause I pointed data that showed that it did have an effect.

Though with my IL as more and more pubs closed in their town they had less choice of pubs to pop into so went out less and less to pubs and started not going out or doing other things - and thus went out less to pubs in general.

So I do wonder if less supply of pubs has encouraged people to do other leisure things thus reducing the potential numbers going to pubs.

I doubt there will be just one cause and the decline has been happening for decades anyway.

People can't afford go out. I think that is the main reason.

I haven't been into a pub for over 8 years.

People can't afford go out. I think that is the main reason.

Why are coffee shops so popular then? Plenty of people spending lots of koney regularly in them.

It's harder to get in underage too. Most people started in pubs at 16 where i grew up, so going to the pub became the norm. Mind you, not sure a bunch of kids nursing a couple of pints all evening helped pubs much!

How much money do people spend in coffee shops? 3.50? 7? Going to cost more thAn that fir a night out. Although if I go to my local without dh (so no babysitting costs) and walk home after, it can cost about fifteen quid for the evening.

Moita - some people still have money, those people are less likely to be drinkers.

When I was younger everyone used to go out every weekend. Now I only know one person that does because she has a good income. Everyone else I know can't afford it.

People have less money to spend now than they did 10 years ago. Are you disputing that?

I work in a brewery and am constantly astounded by landlords/ladies who 'forgot to order' 'didn't realise it was Christmas next week' and 'don't know what to order- what would you recommend?'
I'm only surprised it's not more than 20 per week!!

We don’t go as we have children and I can buy a whole bottle of wine for the same price as one glass, the dh can have a fridge full of various real ales rather than hoping they have one he likes. We can order in a curry for £22-£30 watch a movie and spend a lot less than going to the pub for a meal and drinks.

As a university lecturer, I have really noticed the sharp drop-off in drinking cultures among young people. I teach a final year seminar from 3-5 on a Friday, and they all go off for a natter and socialise afterwards (which I am very pleased to see) - whereas when I was their age (less than 15 years ago) there would have been no question that we'd have been heading to a pub, they go to Starbucks. I agree that for them the pub as a integral part of their social lives seems to have disappeared, possibly because it seems so relatively unaffordable.

In Scotland at least, you would have to drive to a pub in many rural areas .. then you can't drink so what's the point? People will just drink at home in that case. Also Netflix Amazon etc mean more stay at home for entertainment - are cinemas not closing too?

Chattymummyhere - it would be cheaper to eat at our local pub than getting a Chinese or Indian takeaway. And although it isn't expensive food, its not just cheap rubbishy options. Most is homemade, but its more traditional pub food - pie, etc.

I agree about young people. Not drinking has become very common, sometimes for religious reasons.

Here in multi-cultural Leicester ‘dessert parlours’ have sprung up in recent years. They are always packed with multi-cultural young people meeting to socialise in an alcohol-free environment.

ginghamstarfish - In Scotland at least, you would have to drive to a pub in many rural areas

Here too Gingham. Unless you don't mind adding £25 to your night out to get home. There are less and less buses, and the routes that are still up and running all stop at 6pm. So it's £££ or don't drink.