Save Our Pubs: Why Are So Many British Boozers Calling Last Orders
Thirty-one pubs are closing across Britain each week, according to new data from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It marks an increase from December’s stats which showed that 28 pubs were closing per week. The new figures show that 3% of Britain’s suburban pubs have closed over the past six months. In mainland Britain, London and the southeast are hardest hit, losing 8.4 pubs over the course of an average week. CAMRA has laid the blame squarely at the feet of “weak planning law” in England and Wales, which allows property developers to convert pubs into shops, financial institutions, cafes/restaurants or temporary business premises – or even to demolish them – without planning permission.
The Book Club isn’t a pub in the traditional sense and a landlord in rural Norfolk won’t have the same captive market of weekday revellers than one in Shoreditch, but his advice should be transposable for any pub in Britain: engage with the customer, give them what they want and entertain them. “It’s about doing something that many local pubs have done for years and still do: engaging with the community. Putting on events that interest them is a really good way of keeping your place busy. The days when you could sit back and make your booze as cheap as possible are over. People need a reason to go somewhere. What reason can you give them to spend time in your bar or establishment?”