The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers has warned that in some towns nightclubs are “gone for good and we’re never going to get them back”.
The organisation’s figures show that in 2005 there were 3,144 clubs. That went down to 1,733 this year. It classes a club as a place meant for “late night entertainment, usually music and dancing”.
Chief executive Kate Nicholls told Radio 1’s Newsbeat that planning and licensing rules are the reason for some of the closures, with current legislation making it too easy for neighbours to complain about a venue that was operating before they moved in.
She said: “People want to have their cake and eat it. You want vibe and to live in a cool area, then you need the other, edgier side of it.”
Ministry of Sound chief executive Lohan Presencer agreed that UK clubbing was in a “challenging place” in 2015.
“I don’t think the number of people going clubbing at the weekend is any different to where it was 20 years ago, but I do think they are going to different places,” he said.
A Government spokesperson said: “We know the important contribution the sector makes to our economy and the nation’s cultural landscape.
“The current regulations strike a fair balance between making sure we have music entertainment for the public and preventing crime and disorder, whilst keeping the public safe.”