Publicans struggle to stay afloat amid rising costs

Mer Lally, from the Talbot Inn, said it was a "worrying time" for pub landlords

Pub landlords have spoken about their "struggle" to stay afloat due to rising costs and changes in habits.

Mer Lally, who runs the Talbot Inn near Calne, Wiltshire, said the pub trade had "gone quiet" as people struggle with the cost of living.

She is calling on the government to offer more support to the industry, adding: "It's a hard struggle at the moment just to cover everything."

A HM Treasury spokesperson said they were supporting pubs by cutting 1p off alcohol duty on draught pints from February.

They also said they were also providing 40% relief from business rates from April, and ensuring smaller pubs either see a cut or no change in their National Insurance bills from April by more than doubling Employment Allowance.

But some pub owners have said they are in fact looking at a 30p to 40p increase on a pint because of employment costs.

Ms Lally said it is a worry and with the rising costs, they are struggling to stay afloat.

"People haven't got the money. Prices of everything going up. Generally since Covid, people's attitudes have changed and the kids don't come out anymore, the youngsters generally don't drink so we get our working generation come in at tea time after work and that's it," she said.

"We can all keep our fingers crossed and hope we can keep on going but it's worrying for everybody," she added.

Wheatsheaf landlord Dale Smith said a change in habits and rising costs meant pubs were struggling

Landlord Dale Smith, who runs the Wheatsheaf, a pub that was on the brink of closure, said there had been "more people coming in" after they appealed on social media for people to use it or lose it.

"We got to Christmas which was a massive plus and then at Christmas, it blew expectations - so many people coming out. All our functions were busy and we've now entered into 2025 in a way better position than we were," he said.

However, he said a change in habits was sometimes a concern and it was all about "giving people a reason to go out".

"I think in the past a pub was just somewhere, it just became habitual - something you just came out and did whereas now because households tend to have pretty much every subscription, they all have phones, everyone can just talk online.

"It's kind of destroying that coming together and actually speaking, which I think is really good for mental health," he added.

Paul Tylee-Hinder said the number of local pubs had decreased over the years

Meanwhile Wheatsheaf customer Paul Tylee-Hinder said the number of pubs in his local area have decreased massively.

"I've drunk in every pub in this town. At one time there was at least 15 pubs in this town, there's four or five left," he said.

"It would be a terrible shame if we lost this pub," he added.