HIGH STREETS CRISIS IS REVEALED
Competition from supermarkets, law changes and rising costs have led to the number of pubs dwindling from 69,000 in 1980.
As of last year there were only 41,774.
Sara Barton, right, landlady of the Marquis of Granby in Nottinghamshire, is fighting to save her pub with cash from a brewery she also owns, called Brewster’s. But she A report last year found a worrying one in three primary school leavers could not swim a length.
This comes after a number of council-run pools, used by schools, have been closed and not replaced.
There were 395 local authority swimming pools last year, a decline of more than a fifth from the 510 in 2010. One of the latest to face the chop
842 warned its loss would be felt most by older people. “They’d most likely get a bottle of beer and sit at home by themselves,” she said.
British Beer and Pub Association chief Brigid Simmonds said: “A triple whammy of lower consumer spending, unfair burden of high beer tax and increasing business rates is hitting our pubs hard.” is the Cresta swimming pool in Chard, Somerset, below. The council wants to close it at the end of the school holidays. Local Lib Dem councillor Amanda Broom said the closure would be “devastating”.
Many families cannot afford to take their kids to pricey private pools for lessons and fewer pools means elderly users will struggle to stay fit.
756 A toxic mix of rising costs, cut-throat online competition and squeezed household incomes have led to carnage for many high street stores.
Toys R Us and Maplin have gone bust this year, with 2,500 and 3,200 job losses. And New Look, House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer and Mothercare among those planning to shut a wave of shops.
Yet the Altus research shows small shops have borne the brunt of the closures in recent years.
The number of smaller shops – Banks were once a high street staple, their managers a respected pillar of the community. But costcutting, aided by internet banking, has seen branch numbers slashed.
Worst hit are often the elderly, who are less likely to trust online alternatives and often rely on their bank for the human touch.
It is thought 563 outlets closed in 2016,
193 classed as up to 750 square metres – has slumped by 5,648 between 2010 and 2017, from 430,360 to 424,712.
Yet, these same shops will pay a total of just under £4.1billion in business rates this year, up 9% from 2016. The number of department stores also fell by 67.
Newport has the highest percentage of empty shops in England and Wales, with 28% vacant.
But councillor Debbie Wilcox is fighting back. “We are already seeing changes,” she said. with 762 reckoned to have followed last year. Data from business rates, which lists banks, building societies and insurance offices together, shows a fall of at least 1,500 between 2010 and 2017.
Shildon, Co Durham, lost its HSBC in 2012, a year after its Barclays. Campaigner Roy Merryweather said: “With no bank, the high street is in danger of dying.”
6 There are also 11 fewer greyhound tracks, with Birmingham’s Hall Green venue closing last year, in the same month it celebrated its 90th birthday.
And, in 2008, one of our most iconic greyhound stadiums, Walthamstow, East London, also closed ending nearly eight decades of sporting history.
140 BINGO HALLS
A whole host of other businesses have suffered a rapid decline and fallen into the hands of developers.
They include, according to Altus, 140 bingo halls.
Beacon Bingo in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, joined the tally only yesterday, closing its doors for the last time after 50 years in business. Hundreds of store closures have led to the loss of 50,000 jobs already this year as traditional retailers struggle to compete with their online rivals. Our campaign is seeking to halt the decline by demanding action to save Britain’s town centres.