Last orders for 60 East Lancashire pubs as trade plunges into crisis

10:38pm Monday 26th May 2008

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LAST orders have been called on at least 60 East Lancashire pubs as the industry battles its biggest ever crisis.

A Lancashire Telegraph investigation uncovered the staggering number of closed pubs.

And experts fear the figure is the tip of the iceberg and that many more are facing their final closing time.

Some of the 60 closed pubs are boarded up, others derelict and a number have now been turned into new developments such as restaurants or apartments.

Industry bosses said that new smoking legislation, combined with the current economic difficulties and a gradual change of drinking culture had hit pubs hard.

Cheap alcohol in supermarkets was also cited as a major factor as was the level of rent charged by pub companies to landlords.

On our survey, we counted nine closed in Blackburn, 19 in Burnley, seven in Darwen, 13 in Hyndburn, six in Pendle, two in the Ribble Valley and four in Rossendale.

The East Lancashire picture is replicated nationally.

According to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 57 pubs are closed across the country each month.

Geoff Sutcliffe from the East Lancs Licensed Victuallers' Association said that it was an "extremely difficult" time.

Mr Sutcliffe, the landlord of the Rising Sun, Whalley New Road, Brownhill, said: "So many pubs have closed down and in the last year and the problem has got worse.

"It is a very difficult time at the moment and there are a combination of reasons for that.

"The smoking ban has had a massive impact but the issue has been exacerbated by rising costs and low prices at supermarkets.

"Economic problems are also hitting the pub trade hard, people just don't seem to have as much spending money anymore.

"There is also a cultural change and people's habits are changing.

"There was a time when a father would take his son to become a member of the local workingmen's club but that just doesn't happen anymore."

CAMRA said that the closures were a "disaster" for East Lancashire because the pub trade was so well associated with the area.

It is campaigning for a one pence cut in the tax on beer to help pubs survive.

Mike Benner, CAMRA's chief executive, said: "Britain's pubs provide an essential amenity for communities and a place for people to enjoy alcohol sociably in a regulated environment, yet the Government's high tax policies coupled with increasing costs are crippling them.

"We need to see action immediately to stop the number of pub closures spiralling out of control making it impossible for many people to benefit from the amenity of a local pub.

"A 'rescue plan' for community pubs is required."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, vice chair of the all-party parliamentary beer group, said pubs played a vital role in building community spirit and that the true extent of the struggles was "incredibly worrying".

He said: "The pub is usually the heart of an area and it is very sad that so many of them are closing.

"Times are very tough for landlords and landladies at the moment and super-markets are playing a big part in that.

"In many supermarkets it costs less to buy alcohol than it does to buy water.

"Pub closures are a real problem and more support is needed from government. Taxes on drinks sold in pubs are far too high."

Coun Frank Ashworth, whose Rosehill and Burnley Wood ward covers Oxford Road, which has seen a number of closures, said: "I have noticed over a period of time that a lot of smaller pubs are shutting because they are just not viable.

"If they start making a profit, the pub companies put the rents up.

"People have also got less money at the moment and I suppose that pubs are one of the first things hit."

Paul Young, landlord of the Inn on the Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, explained what he thought pubs needed to do to 'thrive' like his: "The smoking ban has shifted the emphasis in pubs from drinking to food and we are getting a lot more coming in now because we do food, although our drink trade is doing well too.

"But the problem is the pub companies are putting up rents and prices and landlords are tied to them."

John Wilson, manager of the Thorn in Church, said: "It's a shame all these pubs are closing but it is definitely not down to the smoking ban.

"I think the price of beer and possibly the lack of daytime drinking are causes for concern."

Phil Miller, the owner of the Stanley Street Working Men's Club, Accrington, said: "The smoking ban and general price increases are killing the pub trade.

"There is no light at the end of the tunnel for the trade, I am sure of that.

£I bought this club five years ago and at the time I had three full-time staff and eight part-time staff.

"Now I have had to let all the full-time workers go, cut my opening times by five hours and do 18 and 19-hour shifts myself just to make ends meet."

The Ribble Valley appears to have avoided the problems seen in other areas.

Jayne Greenwood, landlady of the Higher Buck Inn, The Square, Waddington, said she believed this was due to the Ribble Valley's tourist appeal.

She said: "Very few if any pubs have closed in the Ribble Valley compared to areas such as Blackburn.

"It's a combination of food and beer that has kept the pubs in the Ribble Valley open.

"In addition to this we have a lot of visitors/tourists who come to the Ribble Valley."