Campaigners call time on pub closures

9:50am Tuesday 8th May 2012 in Readers polls Photograph of the Author By Hannah Postles, T&A Reporter

CAMRA branch secretary John Bell CAMRA branch secretary John Bell

Real ale lovers in Bradford fear a rising number of pub closures is “ripping the heart out of the community” after a report revealed 21 locals in West Yorkshire have closed in six months.

Members of Bradford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) say they believe around 50 pubs in the city have shut their doors over the last five years and blame a rise in beer duty, the economic climate and the smoking ban for the decline.

CAMRA branch secretary John Bell said the Admiral Nelson on Manchester Road was one of the most recent closures in the area – with others including the Listers Arms and Grade II listed Cock And Bottle.

He urged residents and the Government to act to stop pubs shutting because “once they’re gone they’re gone”.

Mr Bell said: “Pubs have always been meeting places and to take them away is like ripping the heart out of the community.

“There aren’t many pubs left within a few miles of the city. Manchester Road used to have 28 pubs, now I think it has two. The old Listers Arms has become a solicitors and further up the road the Admiral Nelson, which shut only a few months ago, looks like it’s been boarded up for apartments. The Cock And Bottle, one of the city’s most historic pubs which closed last January, has been bought and doesn’t look like it will remain a pub. Once they’re gone they’re gone.

“I think the economic state of the country is part of it – people have less money to spend on a pint, but there are other things like the cost of beer duty, the smoking ban and the fact a lot of pubs used to be based in the heart of industrial areas that aren’t there anymore.

“I don’t think anything can be done to reopen the pubs that have closed, but there are things we can do to slow down the decline, like a freeze on duty and for big pub landlords to be less restrictive.”

National research commissioned by CAMRA that Britain’s national pub closure rate now stands at 12 pubs per week, with 21 closing in West Yorkshire between September 2011 and March 2012.

The organisation claims there has been a 42 per cent increase in beer duty since 2008 and is urging people to support a 33,000-signature strong petition calling on the Government to debate the rate of taxation.

Mr Bell said: “They definitely need to look at things because I’m not sure the duty increase is helping anything. When you look at it, whenever a pub closes people lose their jobs.

“There are places that are opening and bucking the trend, but it’s rare. I’m not sure there’s going to be any sort of resurgence, but there are things we can do to stem the threat of pub closure.”

For more information about the campaign, visit camra.org.uk/saveyourpint.

Comments(32)

Joedavid says...
10:22am Tue 8 May 12

The 2 areas the pubs mentioned are in have had a great change of the people who live there these days and will have effected this situation a great deal.

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MontyLeMar says...
10:40am Tue 8 May 12

The number of people who I have heard reminiscing about how this or that pub was heaving 20 years ago is getting boring now. The industry on which Bradford was built has all but collapsed now and with it the workers and the money. Who can afford the beer prices these days? Having said that I will be signing the e-petition and encouraging the government to scrap the beer duty escalator before it kills the industry dead. Lets have a Pastie duty escalator instead?

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Wakeywakey says...
10:51am Tue 8 May 12

Will not be too far in the future
before Bradford becomes aa
"Dry City"

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Wakeywakey says...
10:51am Tue 8 May 12

Will not be too far in the future
before Bradford becomes a
"Dry City"

Report this post »

mickcbcfc says...
10:51am Tue 8 May 12

hare and hounds in undercliffe has been closed for the last 3 months or more.
more needs to be done to keep pubs open.

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Albion. says...
11:02am Tue 8 May 12

"He urged residents and the Government to act to stop pubs shutting because “once they’re gone they’re gone”."
Then of course there is a company called Wetherspoons continually opening new ones in premises that were often something else.

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ertnec says...
11:26am Tue 8 May 12

Unfortunately other the years we see more and more Pubs closing. At one time workers popped into their local at lunch time when the factories etc were here. There were taken over by people on benefit who beleaved they right was to not work and sit all day drinking, when I use to pop in to my local I was not welcomed and the amount of stolen goods and fake cigerettes being sold wer crazy. Now we see more presure from the different areas these pubs r in by the community there in due to It's Not for Us as we don't drink and our culture doesn't want them.

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a reasonable sort of chap says...
11:37am Tue 8 May 12

The number one reason behind pub closures is the smoking ban. I haven't been in a pub since.

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Albion. says...
11:44am Tue 8 May 12

a reasonable sort of chap wrote:
The number one reason behind pub closures is the smoking ban. I haven't been in a pub since.
That is a further benefit of it then. ;-)

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Tim the Mage says...
11:44am Tue 8 May 12

a reasonable sort of chap wrote:
The number one reason behind pub closures is the smoking ban. I haven't been in a pub since.
Absolutely - we need to reform the smoking ban and give these pubs a chnce. While demographic change is a factor there's no doubt that the smoking ban is the main cause of closures

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Joedavid says...
11:54am Tue 8 May 12

mickcbcfc wrote:
hare and hounds in undercliffe has been closed for the last 3 months or more.
more needs to be done to keep pubs open.
BD3, as the first post people who used the pub no longer live in the area.

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Banktop says...
12:14pm Tue 8 May 12

Tim the Mage wrote:
a reasonable sort of chap wrote: The number one reason behind pub closures is the smoking ban. I haven't been in a pub since.
Absolutely - we need to reform the smoking ban and give these pubs a chnce. While demographic change is a factor there's no doubt that the smoking ban is the main cause of closures
I smoke and do not want smoking in my local pub. All the smokers go outside for a few minutes. Ive become friends with more people due to this and thank the smoking ban. Most pubs closing down are in area's where i would not drink and most locals are not aloud to drink due to religious views. My local is busy but the price of a pint is far too much. I would go more often if i could afford to.

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nohidingplace says...
12:57pm Tue 8 May 12

My local is busier since the smoking ban an friends who smoke don't mind it.

Pubs were closing at a similar rate before the ban, it's the pubco's that are the problem, tying tenants into unreasonable leases where they have to charge a lot just to keep up the payments.
.
Most pubs closing don't have much to offer, like everything, they need to move with the times or get left behind.

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arhmen aleg says...
1:05pm Tue 8 May 12

Social change in peoples habits the past ten years with the net revolution is one of the main causes.Cheap beer is still available in clubs (working mens and many others)but the clubs too are quiet these days.
People socialise differently as we are doing here.
Needs a Luddite revolution of keyboard smashing warriors to get people sopcialising as they used to.
Weatherspoons are not currently expanding and have put the refurb on hold of a large site in Whitby.Crown Carveries are always full but they have also put expansion on hold.
The industry is finished and will go the same way as the music hall and small provincial cinema also victims of rapid technological change.
Govt to blame statring with the Beer Orders Act 1993 which forced the brewers to find another market place which they did very easily.The Big 5 supermarkets.
15 years ago no supermarket discounted brand products and the price of a pint in the supermarket was not far off the price in a pub.
15 years ago I paid £1 a bottle for Bud at wholesale price.
Today you can find them on offer at £10 for 20 in supermarkets.
Another industry ruined by bungling govt policy.
60000 pubs will turn to probably less than 10000 by the time its finished.
And yet in my village the govt still seem out of touch to the reality as to whatb is happening.
In the business rates revaluation for 2010 they increased one pubs rateable value to 18000 from 5500.The other went from 5000 to 12800.
That after the two previous landlords had been bankrupted .And one had been there since 1993!
And I can tell you those two pubs now do not see locals.
They depend solely on tourists.
And someone in govt who sets these business rates is probably on 40000 to dish out additions to the three million unemployed.
Strike the public sector at your peril.
The proper workers that contribute the the economic wealth of the country have nothing left more to give you

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EthelBurger says...
1:13pm Tue 8 May 12

Is it coincidence that alcohol related illnesses and deaths are on the rise, along with beer duty prices? No. As more and more stay away from pubs because of the prices, more people than ever now seem to be drinking at home in what is effectively an uncontrolled environment. I think the "beer tax escalator" that was designed to reduce binge drinking has actually had the opposite effect. Talk to young women in particular and you'll discover that they meet up for wine & vodka before going out because it's cheaper but they won't be sticking to pub measures, that's for sure. Legislators have completely ignored the social aspect of drinking, which is what now makes it far more dangerous and open to abuse.

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jonathancrewdson says...
1:20pm Tue 8 May 12

I totally agree with this article and that we need to do something to save our locals. Bradford has some cracking real ale pubs, many of which have won awards - the Fighting ****, the Corn Dolly, the Shoulder of Mutton, the Castle Hotel, the New Beehive Inn. The latter is also a CAMRA heritage pub.

The duty on beer is ridiculous and due to get worse with Osborne's plans as are the fees attached to licencing, the costs of stock many beer co's charge tied houses and the fact that pubs have fallen under the same planning category permission as restaurants, cafes and take aways making it easier to convert them into something else without permission.

Hopefully the new changes to the planning rules to restrict this kind of change of use without permission as well pubs being able to be registered as "community assets" under the Localism Act will help matters to a degree.

The real issue however is price because of beer duty. That needs to be cut. If it was it would give the industry a much needed boost, probably result in more pubs taking on new staff with increased demand and overall more tax revenue collected for the Exchequer. There is no sense in taxing an industry until it sinks because once its gone there is no more tax for the Treasury.

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Albion. says...
1:21pm Tue 8 May 12

arhmen aleg wrote:
Social change in peoples habits the past ten years with the net revolution is one of the main causes.Cheap beer is still available in clubs (working mens and many others)but the clubs too are quiet these days.
People socialise differently as we are doing here.
Needs a Luddite revolution of keyboard smashing warriors to get people sopcialising as they used to.
Weatherspoons are not currently expanding and have put the refurb on hold of a large site in Whitby.Crown Carveries are always full but they have also put expansion on hold.
The industry is finished and will go the same way as the music hall and small provincial cinema also victims of rapid technological change.
Govt to blame statring with the Beer Orders Act 1993 which forced the brewers to find another market place which they did very easily.The Big 5 supermarkets.
15 years ago no supermarket discounted brand products and the price of a pint in the supermarket was not far off the price in a pub.
15 years ago I paid £1 a bottle for Bud at wholesale price.
Today you can find them on offer at £10 for 20 in supermarkets.
Another industry ruined by bungling govt policy.
60000 pubs will turn to probably less than 10000 by the time its finished.
And yet in my village the govt still seem out of touch to the reality as to whatb is happening.
In the business rates revaluation for 2010 they increased one pubs rateable value to 18000 from 5500.The other went from 5000 to 12800.
That after the two previous landlords had been bankrupted .And one had been there since 1993!
And I can tell you those two pubs now do not see locals.
They depend solely on tourists.
And someone in govt who sets these business rates is probably on 40000 to dish out additions to the three million unemployed.
Strike the public sector at your peril.
The proper workers that contribute the the economic wealth of the country have nothing left more to give you
http://www.jdwethers
poon.co.uk/home/pubs
/find/_/_/20/_/just-
opened,coming-soon/1
000#hide-search-opti
ons

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Silsdenman says...
2:45pm Tue 8 May 12

Supply and demand, same as everything else. Fact is, not enough people want the product and it is not economical or profitable to run these businesses. It is happening all the time with hundreds of other products too. Sign of the times and the biggest sign of that in Bradford is that it's no a place worth living or trading in.

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jonathancrewdson says...
2:49pm Tue 8 May 12

Silsdenman wrote:
Supply and demand, same as everything else. Fact is, not enough people want the product and it is not economical or profitable to run these businesses. It is happening all the time with hundreds of other products too. Sign of the times and the biggest sign of that in Bradford is that it's no a place worth living or trading in.
I don't agree it is all about supply and demand. If the market was largely untaxed then yes, I could see that. But if you levy huge duties on beer, charge pubs a fortune for licences and have the crazy situation of the likes of Enterprise Inns driving their tenants into the ground by tying them into over inflated stock prices then it is not as straight forward as that.

And if we truly value pubs as more than just businesses but as proper community centres and a part of our heritage then surely we would like to retain them. Once they're gone they're gone.

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Rolland_Smoke says...
3:09pm Tue 8 May 12

The pubs have traditionally been the place to go for a little social inclution and to mix with people. When a pentioner is required to spend more for a pint than they would for a meal then they will think long and hard before spending that money. Often people who go to the pub would not dream of going to someones house for fear of imposing themselves and as a result will find themselves isolated and may not have any conversation from one week to the next. The pubs that are fighting for survival are trying to lure people in by putting on entertainment but are finding themselves falling foul of the noise abaitment nazis due to the smokers having to be in and out constantly and the noise that would have been contained within the building sneeking out with them.

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GC BD4 says...
5:08pm Tue 8 May 12

as a long standing CAMRA member I feel that the government are to blame with the introduction of the Licensing act 2003 ( 24 hr drinking ) pub co's are therefore keeping premises open all day, thus charging extortinate rents to licensees and having to raise the price of drinks. Most premises open 11.00am till midnight but dont get customer in till 2.00pm. Lets get back to local pubs opening 11 - 3 and 5.30 - 11.00 then you will see the benefits. Being a personal licence holder I would relish the old times.

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Biggus Dickus says...
5:22pm Tue 8 May 12

Its too expensive to drink in pubs these days. I stayed in a Premier Inn in the middle of nowhere nr Birmingham recently and was charged £4.10 for a pint of Carling, thats disgusting. I can get the same pint in my local wmc for £1.60. And as for the pubs closing down, i live in Wibsey. Not ones gone yet, tho, il bet it wont be long before one does.

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Colin Allcars says...
7:41pm Tue 8 May 12

Tax on beer should be put on beer sold from off licences, not public houses. Supermarkets should not be allowed to sell alcohol as loss leaders as this helps fuel binge drinking, unsocial behaviour and health problems. The pub is part of English culture, the government should want to be preserving our culure, not killing it.

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Prisoner Cell Block A says...
8:58pm Tue 8 May 12

The Hare and Hounds was the busiest pub out of the local ones, Robin Hood, Green Man, Malt Kiln, swing Gate and Milner's Arms. All within a half mile radius, all the rest still open, it wasn't lack of trade behind it closing, and it is actually up for lease.

The strange thing is that none of the others above seem to have become any busier with one less to compete with.

Re The **** n Bottle, I do hope that whoever is in possession of it is not allowed to destroy the original fittings. This more than the odeon is one of Bradford's jewels but gets very little mention.

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mad matt says...
10:55pm Tue 8 May 12

There used to be 13 pubs and 4 clubs within a ten minute stagger of my house - now there is one.

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bobbyo says...
10:58pm Tue 8 May 12

seven stars went at greengates, an italian restaurant now.. the roebuck is next to go i have been informed it is being sold and turned into flats!!! disgraceful!!!

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bobbyo says...
10:59pm Tue 8 May 12

seven stars went at greengates, an italian restaurant now.. the roebuck is next to go i have been informed it is being sold and turned into flats!!! disgraceful!!!

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Steve30d says...
1:26am Wed 9 May 12

Cheaper booze is almost certainly not the problem for pubs. Why do I say this? because if price really was the problem, then people would be brewing themselves at home. (and it's not that difficult to make a better tasting brew than the rubbish some big breweries seem to make) what would be a smaller brewery than a microbrewery? a pico-brewery perhaps?

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Albion. says...
6:41am Wed 9 May 12

bobbyo wrote:
seven stars went at greengates, an italian restaurant now.. the roebuck is next to go i have been informed it is being sold and turned into flats!!! disgraceful!!!
Good it's rubbish!

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thelastmanstanding says...
7:10am Wed 9 May 12

Some pubs in Bradford are struggling and are destined for their grave. No matter what the landlord tries, these places are doomed.

The reason is not because of the smoking ban, it is not the cost of a pint or recession and it is not because of pubcos, although these are factors. The main reason is immigration.

Manningham's pub circuit didn't disappear because of a recession or a smoking ban, neither did the pubs on Leeds Road, Barkerend Road, Manchester Road, White Abbey Road and in West Bowling. The reason these places closed was because the community that traditionally used these places moved out, and a community has moved in that wouldn't use the pub even if you were allowed to smoke in them and the beer was free.

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Farsley Bantam says...
8:43am Wed 9 May 12

Albion. wrote:
bobbyo wrote:
seven stars went at greengates, an italian restaurant now.. the roebuck is next to go i have been informed it is being sold and turned into flats!!! disgraceful!!!
Good it's rubbish!
Correct. Right scruffy sh1tehole!

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Colin Allcars says...
6:01pm Wed 9 May 12

What's going on at the Junction at Bolton Junction? Hope it's not another failing takeaway

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