Mapping UK Pub Closures

There used to be four pubs within a five minute walk of my house. One pub remains. Two of them are now small supermarkets. The other has become a private residence.

My neighborhood in East London isn't different from any other part of the UK in terms of the dramatic number of public houses closing. According to the Office of National Statistics nearly 1 in 4 pubs have closed in the last 10 years. In 2008 there were around 50,000 pubs in the UK. In 2018 only about 39,000 pubs remain.

You can find out how the numbers of pubs have changed in your local area on the ONS's Change in Pub Numbers Map. This map shows the percentage change in the number of pubs in every UK local authority area. If you click on an area on the map you can discover the exact percentage change in the number of pubs in the last 10 years.

Despite the number of pub closures the ONS reports that the turnover of pubs and clubs has remained about the same since 2008. They also report that the number of jobs in pubs has risen 6% in the last 10 years. The ONS suggests that this shows that the "remaining pubs and bars appear to have soaked up the custom from those pubs that have closed down".

You can learn more about the pub trade in the UK over the last 10 years in the ONS article Economies of ale: small pubs close as chains focus on big bars. As well as the map linked above the article includes an interactive which allows you to find out how many pubs have closed in your area, how many pubs there are per 10,000 people and how this compares to the national average.