Britain has lost 28,000 pubs since the 1970s thanks to business rates ‘time bomb’ — and one pub faces a 377 per cent increase
When Camra formed in 1971, Britain had 75,000 pubs
BRITAIN has lost 28,000 pubs since the 1970s, new figures reveal, with more closures forecast as business rates rise.
Releasing the stats, the CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE described this year’s rates revaluation as a “ticking time bomb” for the trade, warning that it “can only fuel the rate and level of closures”.
And town centre inns are bearing the brunt of the hikes.
Camra said its 2012 Pub of the Year, The Baum in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, will see its rateable value — used to calculate the levy — soar 377 per cent. 2015 winner Sandford Park Alehouse in Cheltenham, Glos, faces a 181 per cent increase.
But rates have fallen for many out-of-town supermarkets and stores on industrial estates.
Camra wants a £5,000 levy reduction for every English pub.
Roger Protz, editor of the group’s Good Beer Guide, said: “The British pub is unique. It is rooted in our island’s history, dating from Roman and Saxon times.
“There is no better place for people to meet, enjoy a beer, strike up a conversation, make new friends and put the world to rights.”
Britain had 75,000 boozers when Camra was formed in 1971.
That has since shrunk to fewer than 50,000 as more beer is drunk at home than in pubs.
However, UK brewery numbers have now soared to more than 1,700.
And turnover for the top 30 independent craft brewers shot up 44 per to £125million last year.
Five pubs that have made every single edition of the Good Beer Guide, including the 45th edition released today.
The pubs are the Star Tavern and the Buckingham Arms in London, the Roscoe Head in Liverpool, the Square & Compass in Dorset and the Queen’s Head in Cambridge.
The Guide is based entirely on personal recommendations made by local Camra members.
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They take into account beer quality as well as the history and architecture of a pub and various aspects such as food, gardens, family and disabled facilities and special events.
Camra said the pubs inclusion demonstrated “a consistent high standard of quality beers served in a fantastic setting”.
The latest guide goes on to warn that consumers are being deliberately misled with many drinkers unaware that familiar brand names on pump clips are now owned by what Americans call Big Beer - and may no longer be made to original recipes.
AB Inbev, along with other Big Beer global brewers, are strategically targeting the independent brewing sector following the steady decline of mass market lager brands.