BRADFORD is part of national trend which has seen pubs shutting at unprecedented rates in the first six months of the year, stark new figures have revealed.

Pubs are shutting down at a rate of two every day across England and Wales and the number of closures surged by 50 per cent in three months, according to figures released by the Altus Group.

A total of 383 pubs were closed, demolished or converted for other uses, such as homes, from January 1 to June 30 of this year – close to the total of 386 closures seen in the entirety of 2022.

Forty-three of those pubs were in Yorkshire and the Humber

Richard Holden, a committee member for the Bradford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said: "I expect the figures are far more than they have announced.

"It's terribly difficult for pubs.

"A lot of it will have to do with electricity bills. Bigger pubs are also paying higher rates in addition to higher electricity bills because of the big buildings to heat.

A number of pubs across Bradford have closed this year, including two on North Parade - Crafted, which shut last week, and The Sparrow, which closed in June.

Mr Holden said in reference to The Sparrow: "That was the first ever North Parade micro bar."

A number of other pubs have either closed and are being converted into houses, like The British Queen in Low Moor and The Albion at Greengates, or in some cases closures are temporary and pubs are reopening under new ownership or under new names.

Mr Holden also spoke about one big pub which has gone up for sale - the Shipley JD Wetherspoons pub, the Sir Norman Rae - of which he remained hopeful and said there is "no guarantee" it would ever close.

He added: "It's mega busy. It's busy every minute of the day.

"The Halifax Wetherspoons, the Percy Shaw, was also put up for sale but that's not been sold yet."

But for all the sad news about pub closures, Mr Holden feels there is reason for optimism.

He said: "If you go to places like the Corn Dolly, they've expanded enormously by making their car park into a beer garden. It's absolutely heaving. They put concerts and food on.

"That's the way forward for pubs to react and try to deal with changes.

"The more you do, the more chance you have for success.

"If you do nothing, you may be in danger. But then not every pub can do that."

Mr Holden added: "Exchange Taverns on Market Street has been an eye opener.

"On North Parade, The Record Cafe is doing well and the Boar and Fable is mega busy when Bradford City is on.

"There's also the Dog and Gun in Wibsey who have made it back into the Beer Guide for the first time in a long time."