Affordable housing shortage fuelling pub closures

A chronic shortage of affordable housing in rural areas is causing an "unprecedented" number of pubs and village shops to close, a coalition of groups have warned.

The National Housing Federation has joined forces with the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the Rural Shops Alliance (RSA) to call for urgent action, after new figures revealed up to 650 country pubs and 400 village shops will close over the next 12 months.

The BBPA estimates 54 country pubs will close a month if current trends continue, while the RSA says 33 village shops a month could shut.

More than 600 country pubs closed last year, the BBPA said, and warned there was little sign of this slowing down.

The gentrification of the countryside and shortage of affordable homes means it is more difficult for pubs and shops to find workers who can afford to live locally, the NHF said.

Councils are being called on to draw up action plans to address the housing needs of their communities.

Mark Hastings, the BBPA's director of communications, said: "All too often, pubs are one of the last community facilities in many villages. Across a range of fronts, we badly need policies from the government that support pubs."

NHF chief executive David Orr said: "If the local pub and shop disappear from a village, it rips the heart out of community life.

"Many villages are now in real danger of losing their unique identity. They are becoming holiday zones preserved for tourists and second home owners, which close down for business in the winter."

And Ken Parsons, chief Executive of the RSA, said: "Once these shops and pubs have closed, most are gone for good - only a small proportion will ever be revived."

But a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "We have already set out proposals for helping rural communities to thrive in the 21st Century by providing more affordable housing and greater freedom to develop strong local economies.

"We have invested more than £230m in the last three years in rural affordable homes, providing nearly 7,500 homes.

"And as part of our £8.4bn investment in affordable housing, we are aiming to build more than 10,000 homes in the smallest rural communities over the next three years to meet affordable housing need."