Extending pub hours won't work, landlord claims

Terry Cole, landlord of the The Royal Oak, said extending pub hours would not help his business

A pub landlord says plans that could allow pubs to stay open for longer will not work.

A fast-track review on "outdated" licensing rules means pubs in England and Wales could extend their opening hours and find it easier to serve food outside and host more live music.

However, Terry Cole, the landlord of the The Royal Oak in Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton, said he did not see the need for pubs to extend their opening hours - and claimed participating venues would be hit financially.

"It's going to be more cost for us, more cost on staff, electricity, to keep the places open," he said. "I can't see it working. I don't know why we need to go past 11 o'clock."

He added: "You've seen it massively in the news lately that we're all struggling to keep pubs open.

"I can understand if you want to go into a town or city and go into a nightclub, that might be great, but the night-time trade's not there anymore and I think a lot of publicans agree with us.

"In the middle of the week, why would you need to be open until three, four o'clock in the morning to serve one or two customers? Because that's all you'll be getting."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the review was about "cutting red tape" and "boosting footfall" to support the UK's economic growth.

Mr Cole said drinking culture had changed "massively", with late-night drinkers "very far and few between now".

"Four pm until eight we're at our busiest, then it dies off because people go home and then we're kicking our heels waiting to close some days," he said.

"Because the drinking culture's not there anymore and it stems from Covid, because more people have got used to going out in the day then going home and getting comfortable."

Mr Cole claimed the review was "stepping around" what the sector really needed, which, he said, was economic relief.

He said one of the reasons for pubs struggling was the soaring cost of a pint compared to the price of alcohol in supermarkets.

"People are scarcely coming out now because they're saving themselves up for one or two days a week when it used to be seven days a week," he said.