In the past year alone, our sector has been hit by a reduction in the business rates discount, raising fixed costs, minimum wage increase without any offsetting tax relief and refusal to reduce VAT for hospitality, despite soaring costs for food, drink and energy.
Now comes another blow – and it’s perhaps the worst yet.
The Government is reportedly considering reducing the legal drink-drive limit.
Deterring customers
While aimed at road safety, this change risks delivering a fatal hit to rural pubs.
Let’s be clear – nobody in our industry condones drink-driving. Safety matters but, in rural areas, public transport is often non-existent. Customers regularly travel several miles to us for a pint or dinner and lowering the limit could deter even those who would otherwise enjoy just one drink with dinner before heading home.
According to industry figures:
- Some 29 pubs close every week in the UK
- Over 70% of rural pub customers drive to get there
- A third of rural pubs are now operating at a loss post-pandemic
- Removing the ability to responsibly enjoy a drink means removing a key reason to visit at all.
The final blow?
We’ve endured Covid lockdowns, soaring energy prices and relentless cost-of-living pressures. What we cannot survive is a steady stream of policies that choke off our already-limited customer base.
Lowering the drink-drive limit without supporting rural hospitality is not just a safety measure – it’s a death sentence for the country pub. And if these closures continue, we will lose more than jobs. We will lose a way of life.
As a destination pub-restaurant, I know how hard it is to get customers to our site and although we have learnt how to adapt over the years and overcome many issues, I fear this would be ultimately the most difficult.
