British pubs and clubs show a fall in numbers

by John Harrington

The number of pubs and clubs in Britain fell by 2% in the past year, according to new data from the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said the figures expose as a myth the view that there has been a recent dramatic rise in new pubs and clubs. But the Bar Entertainment & Dance Association (BEDA) says this should be seen against the increase in large-capacity venues in town and city centres.

There were 81,360 pubs and clubs in England and Wales on 30 June 2004, about 2% fewer than in June 2003.

BBPA spokesman Mark Hastings said: "The most important thing from these figures is that they challenge the myth that there's been some constant increase in pubs and bars in Britain.

"It confirms what we've been saying for a long period of time that there are around 60,000 pubs and bars in Britain now, as there has been for years. The numbers have remained constant."

But BEDA chief executive Jon Collins said: "We might have seen country or suburban pubs, which have smaller capacity, close down [but] in the past three years there has been an expansion in the capacity of large licensed premises in town and city centres."

He said that areas with most competition had ­ by their very nature ­ drawn in the majority of new premises.

Interestingly, there were about 600 fewer applications for on-licences in 2003/2004 compared to 2000/2001 ­ a fall of around 10%.

Meanwhile, the success of off-licences appears to be fluctuating. There were 5% more off-licences in 2004 than in 2001 ­ but the past year has seen a 2% fall in the number of off-licences in England and Wales.

The highest density of on-licensed venues are in popular tourist areas, the figures show. The greatest number of on-licences per head are in central London, followed by Cumbria, the Isle of Wight, North Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall.

The lowest densities are in outer London and parts of the Midlands, including the West Midlands, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire.

Clampdown on problem pubs

The statistics suggest that courts are taking a tougher stance in tackling problem pubs.

Almost twice as many on-licences were revoked in the year to 30 June 2004 compared to the same period three years earlier.

A total of 273 licensees lost the right to sell alcohol, and 70% of these ­ 186 venues ­ were pubs or bars.