Taxes and price cuts 'shut 18 pubs a week'
Eighteen pubs are closing every week, it has emerged, as the industry struggles against high taxes and cheaper supermarket prices, new research has revealed.
The Campaign for Real Ale said pub closures had increased from 12 a week in the past year, with 450 shut across the UK since March alone.
Of those, 155 were in the Midlands, according to the research. The report was published to coincide with a debate in the House of Commons on the beer duty escalator, introduced four years ago by Labour, under which beer duty is automatically increased by two per cent above inflation.
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition against the tax escalator, which has triggered a debate among MPs. Camra said pubs were now closing at an increased rate, with beer sales "plummeting".
Chief executive Mike Benner said: "Surpassing the 100,000 signatures required to trigger a debate was a major consumer-led campaigning success, but the real hard work begins now. For too long, Britain's beer drinkers have been forced to endure inflation-busting rates of tax on their pint, while the Treasury's own projections show that these hikes will fail to bring in any additional revenue over the next three years."
Recent pub closures include The Marksman in West Bromwich. The Swan in Victoria Road, Darlaston, is boarded up.
However, there has been recent good news. In Wolverhampton a new Hungry Horse pub has been built on the Goodyear site off Stafford Road. Marston's is also planning to create 50 jobs with a new pub next to Waitrose in Lichfield.
