Pete Robinson: Apocalypse now!
The Gala Bingo hall closed without warning and now has a 'for sale' sign on the premises. With the writing on the wall for local social clubs what are all the old folk going to do?
Across the road stands an old coaching inn where I once played as a child, now boarded up ready for redevelopment. Three more pubs in or very near to the town centre have since Christmas announced imminent closure.
One of these had, in recent years, transformed itself into a live music pub showcasing local bands. The kind of place publicans are being told to convert to if they want to survive the effects of the smoking ban.
This one had been highly successful before the ban but has since seen numbers dwindle, with the added expense of hiring two extra doormen to monitor the outside area. Now the owner has had enough and the town is losing another valuable asset.
Just out of the centre several pubs have gone, or are due to close, mainly for demolition to make way for new housing projects. One, The Fox & Crane, had been a very busy food pub.
Seems nowhere is safe these days. Another in the same road was once the busiest pub in town.
What's happening here is being reflected all over the country.
The national press have still not cottoned on to the disaster about to befall the trade. When they do there will be a short window of opportunity for our spokesmen and industry leaders to make clear what the public is about to lose. Let's hope they don't balls it up like they did pre-ban.
Below is a selection of reports from local papers, all telling pretty much the same story. Remember this is just a sample. Take a drive around your own area and you may be surprised at the number of casualties already apparent in the licenced trade.
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Sports Cafe shuts doors as ban on smoking partly to blame
THE smoking ban and poor Christmas trading were blamed for the collapse of the Sports Cafe chain owned by Wigan Warriors owner Ian Lenagan. The Alternative Investment Market-listed bars group shut the doors of its Liverpool and Manchester outlets yesterday after the company went into administration.
Sheffield pubs at crisis point
SHEFFIELD pubs are facing a crisis year with more than 15 threatened with closure... as hard-up publicans - some said to be working 100 hours a week for just £100 - quit in the face of growing competition, falling sales and the effects of the smoking ban.
Smoking ban 'killing off' Oxford pubs
Pub landlords across Oxfordshire have blamed the smoking ban for killing off trade... Most said they had seen trade drop by 50 per cent.
Are we calling time on Peterborough's old pubs
LANDLORDS must be cowering in their beer cellars after it was revealed that yet another Peterborough pub is under the threat of closure. The Royal Oak pub in Walton could join the growing list of boozers which have been forced to close due to lack of business.
Gloucestershire pubs in crisis
The popular George Inn in St Briavel's has closed its doors, the latest of three Forest pubs to call time in recent weeks.
Littlehampton stays dry for New Year
The Wickbourne Swan in Clun Road closed just days before Christmas, joining the Steam Packet and the Locomotive, both in Terminus Road, which last served drinkers two months ago.
A string of traditional Black Country pubs will remain shut over Christmas because of a lack of landlords. At least five in Dudley alone have been hit by the shortage.
New Year spells disaster for Taunton nightlife
POPULAR nightspots in the town experienced a disastrous New Year and Christmas period because revellers in Taunton were non-existent. In what has been described as the quietest festive season to date, owner of Dellers Wharf David Nurcombe said it was "like someone had set a bomb off in Taunton." He said that in 12 years of trading he had never known the town so dead.
A bitter blow for Scarborough's pub trade
MORE pubs in Scarborough will close this winter as the cold weather and the smoking ban begin to hit trade even harder.
'Astonishment' at Weddington pub closure
THE leader of Warwickshire County Council has said he is "astonished" to hear that a landmark Nuneaton pub is closing. The Fox and Crane, in Weddington Road, will close on January 17... It is understood the pub has been sold to developers who are earmarking the site for apartments.
Mystery as landlord shuts pub
A popular Lancashire pub, which staff say has been affected by the smoking ban, has closed its doors. The John O' Gaunt on Market Street, Lancaster unexpectedly closed to punters on Monday.
HE runs one of the busiest pubs in Huddersfield - but Steve Pike wants out... He said: "We used to be able to make enough, but the smoking ban has effected us massively, it has devastated us. I haven't taken a wage out of this place since June."
Tears as Puzzle Hall is forced to close
A Calderdale pub and music venue has left regulars in shock after shutting its doors. The Puzzle Hall Inn, Sowerby Bridge, gained huge popularity by launching new bands and selling locally-brewed real ale.
FEARS that a tiny Yorkshire hamlet could lose its only pub to a housing development has sparked objections. The Oak Tree Inn at Copt Hewick, near Ripon, has already ceased trading and its car park has been fenced off.
Village fight over pub conversion
There has been a public house in the village for about 100 years, but just before Christmas residents discovered that a planning application had been submitted to Monmouthshire council.
Smoking ban has played huge part in pub closures
In its present form, the smoking ban is a hateful, mindless piece of legislation. It should have provided for smoking rooms and allowed any place licensed to serve alcohol to choose for themselves. I cannot believe that all the smokers standing outside pubs in the pouring rain are prepared to put up with this nonsense.
Preston pubs say smoking ban is killing pubs
Preston landlords say their businesses are being ruined by the smoking ban. It is six months since Britain went smoke free, and the city's licensees say drinkers are now not comfortable in pubs.
S Yorks pubs in crisis as sales slump
"There are more pubs closed now than there have ever been. High rents and costs do not allow publicans to invest in their pubs and standards are falling all the time. I believe the days of the community boozer are numbered."
