High rural house prices fuel pub closures

A chronic shortage of affordable rural housing is helping to fuel the closure of hundreds of of country pubs and village shops.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) claims that 650 rural pubs and 400 village shops will be lost over the next 12 months as traditional British village life is plunged into terminal decline by the lack of affordable housing.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimates that 54 country pubs could close a month if current trends continue.

The NHF believes that the mass closures reflect a declining demand for services in villages where local families — the core customer base — had been priced out of the area by an influx of wealthy commuters and second home owners.

The "gentrification" of the countryside and chronic shortage of affordable homes have also made it increasingly difficult for pubs and shops to find workers who can afford to live locally and survive on modest wages.

The NHF said that 750,000 people are on the waiting list for an affordable home in rural England and that 100,000 new homes are required to meet the demand in the next 10 years.

Rural house prices tend to be well above the national average, while rural incomes are well below the national average.

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

"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.

"Affordable housing lies at the centre of the battle to save traditional village life. Unless we build more affordable homes for local people, they will continue to be priced out of rural areas and the shops and pubs they support will vanish with them.

"To save the countryside, we believe that all rural housing authorities must carry out a comprehensive assessment of affordable housing need every three years, and follow this up with a plan to deliver new homes."

Mark Hastings, director of communication for the BBPA, said: "Much loved community pubs are right at the heart of village life. They are also a key part of our heritage and a huge draw for tourism.

"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."

Ken Parsons, chief executive of the Rural Shops Alliance added that communities become "fragmented" once their "central focus" disappears — be it a pub or a shop.

"This should be a clear wake-up call for both central government and the Regional Development Agencies to see the importance and urgency of the issue," he said.

"Once these shops and pubs have closed, most are gone for good - only a small proportion will ever be revived."