Arundel crowned Sussex hotspot for pubs
Analysis of listings in The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) Sussex Pub Guide, conducted by Brighton residents Julia Sabrowsky and Mat Lindley, showed the market town boasted a pub for every 276 residents with 11 sites serving its 3,034 residents.
Rank | Town | County | Population | Number Of Pubs | People Per Pub |
1 | Arundel | West Sussex | 3,034 | 11 | 276 |
2 | Rye | East Sussex | 4,885 | 15 | 326 |
3 | Petworth | West Sussex | 2,593 | 4 | 648 |
4 | Battle | East Sussex | 5,330 | 8 | 666 |
5 | Lewes | East Sussex | 16,070 | 21 | 765 |
6 | Midhurst | West Sussex | 5,371 | 7 | 767 |
7 | Shoreham-by-Sea | West Sussex | 23,676 | 19 | 1,246 |
8 | Brighton & Hove | East Sussex | 277,106 | 207 | 1,339 |
9 | Selsey | West Sussex | 10,738 | 8 | 1,342 |
10 | Hastings | East Sussex | 91,480 | 60 | 1,525 |
Most pubs overall
The coastal town of Rye, in East Sussex, and the civil parish of Petworth, in West Sussex, took second and third place, with 326 and 648 people per pub respectively.
Rank | Town | County | Population | Number Of Pubs |
1 | Brighton & Hove | East Sussex | 277,106 | 207 |
2 | Hastings | East Sussex | 91,480 | 60 |
3 | Worthing | West Sussex | 111,621 | 53 |
4 | Eastbourne | East Sussex | 99,189 | 43 |
5 | Crawley | West Sussex | 120,549 | 32 |
6 | Horsham | West Sussex | 50,223 | 27 |
7 | Lewes | East Sussex | 16,070 | 21 |
8 | Chichester | West Sussex | 31,729 | 20 |
9 | Shoreham-by-Sea | West Sussex | 23,676 | 19 |
10 | Bexhill | East Sussex | 43,754 | 17 |
Brighton and Hove was found to have the most pubs overall with 207 sites across the East Sussex city, followed by Hastings in East Sussex, with 60 sites, and Worthing in West Sussex, with 53 pubs compared with a population of 277,106, 91,480 and 111,621 respectively.
Looking at the villages across the county, Lancing, which is a costal enclave near Shoreham in West Sussex, came out of top, according to the analysis, with seven pubs, followed by the villages of Findon and Lindfield, also in West Sussex.
This comes as figures from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), based on analysis of Government data by real estate intelligence firm Altus Group, earlier this year revealed more than 150 pubs disappeared during the first three months of 2023, attributed to rising energy bills.
Extortionate costs
Analysis of the data showed the number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, had decreased by 153 to 39,634 by 31 March this year, compared with 39,787 at the end of 2022.
Moreover, the figures revealed 51 pubs were lost each month during this period, up from 32 per month during the whole of 2022.
British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “Energy bills are decimating our sector with extortionate costs wiping out profits and closing pubs at a faster rate than the pandemic.
“It is essential that the Government intervenes to ensure energy suppliers are offering the option of renegotiation to pubs locked into unmanageably high energy contracts.
“Make no mistake, the longer this goes on the more pubs will be lost forever in communities across the country, something must be done immediately to save them.”
