Pub closures: new figures show average of two pubs a week shut down across Yorkshire in 2023

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The closure of 54 pubs over the past two years is a huge blow for the sector, for Yorkshire and Humber and for the many local communities where a pub is one of the few remaining public spaces and an important cultural and community asset.

“The rate of decline is significant with the loss of a quarter of pubs across the country since 2003.”

Closures across Yorkshire and Humber are also in trend with the rest of the UK, which saw over 500 pubs close their doors for good in 2023.

The British Beer and Pub Association described the sector as “unique in the breadth of challenges it continues to navigate”.

The association said that brewers and pubs operate on incredibly narrow margins with high fixed costs, which it said are “squeezed on all sides” by higher labour costs, rising prices of raw materials, and a heavy tax burden, as well as being major users of energy.

It added that many of these issues persist despite the relative recovery of the sector following the pandemic.

Ms McClarkin added: “There is still time for the local councils and Government to reconsider the level of business rate relief they provide that will best support local businesses.

“We need to set a path for the long-term sustainability for the beer and pub sector otherwise it will be too late for many of our much-loved pubs and the central role they provide supporting local High Streets and the broader local economy.”

According to the The British Beer and Pub Association, the industry contributes £26.2 billion to the UK economy and generates £15.1 billion in tax revenue.

Across the UK the beer and pub industry supports around 936,000 jobs from farmers growing barley and hops, to the brewers, pub landlords.