Pub closures: The communities stopping last orders for their local

The Forge in the Northumberland village of Ulgham has been shut for four years, but there are hopes its doors will reopen

Many will head straight to their local pub when they return home for Christmas - if it still exists. It is thought more than 100 have shut in the North East and Cumbria this year, with spiralling costs and the hangover from Covid being blamed. But some communities are fighting back.

The Forge Inn is a sorry sight in its empty and gradually decaying state.

However, peer through its windows and you can still see the bar, tables and all the other fixtures and fittings that once made it the centre of life in the Northumberland village of Ulgham.

It has been closed for more than four years; one of hundreds of pubs to have bitten the dust in recent times.

Resident Dave Wilson says the community of around 350 people it served has suffered as a result.

"People come into the village and you see them in the street," he says, "and you don't know who they are.

"You don't get an opportunity to meet new people. That heart and soul has been missing and we need to get it back."

Dave Wilson and fellow residents are trying to buy the village pub, but time is running out

And Dave is determined to do just that. He is leading a community push to buy and reopen The Forge.

He and other villagers have formed what's called a community benefit society. It is selling £100 shares that will go towards making a bid to buy it from the current owner.

Nobody will make any profit, but it will give them a stake in the pub if villagers can pull off their rescue act.

There is a deadline though. They need to raise more than £300,000 by 5 March. That is when the owner is no longer bound by the Localism Act, a law designed to give communities time to rescue a pub from being permanently lost.

"We have raised about £35,000 so far. We have got a good way to go, but the share issue is running until the end of the year and the word is out.

"Everyone is talking about The Forge. Once we demonstrate community support, we can also apply for grants." Dave says.

'Sleepless nights'

The campaigners in Ulgham are taking inspiration from other villages. Around 160 successful community buy-outs have taken place in the last decade, and to date only one of those that reopened has failed.

Ye Olde Cross in Ryton, Gateshead, has proved a success after it was bought by the community

One of the success stories is Ye Olde Cross, in Ryton, Gateshead. It closed in 2018, but villagers reopened it a year later.

Despite the challenges of Covid and the cost of living crisis, it is now thriving. When I visited, almost every table was full.

And while pints were being pulled downstairs, the committee that represents the pub's 500 local shareholders was meeting above to discuss ways of making it even busier.

Martin Conway, who chairs the Ryton Cross Community Society which owns the pub, says the success has been down to the strength of local support.

"It's been a rollercoaster with lots of sleepless nights for all of us," he says, "but as a committee and as individuals we have come through a lot stronger.

"We started with a blank sheet of paper in 2018, but we'd like to think we can now share that experience and help other communities."

Ye Olde Cross Community Society has praised the support of locals

Fellow committee member Liz Smith says they are confident Ye Olde Cross has a long-term future.

"The key is all these shareholders who have invested in the pub," she explains. Not only money, but also time and commitment.

"I see absolutely no reason why the pub should fail."

'Bills quadrupling'

There are, though, more pubs in need of saviours.

Real estate analysts Altus Group estimates that almost 400 closed in the first six months of 2023.

The North East and Cumbria Campaign for Real Ale branch, that covers the area which includes The Forge and Ye Olde Cross, estimates 100 of those were in its patch.

It is urging the government to offer more help to publicans to stop closures.

Pubs like Ye Olde Cross say they face challenges with rising energy costs

"The biggest issue is energy costs," says branch chairman Paul Hillhouse.

"We are hearing from numerous publicans facing bills quadruple the size they were two or three years ago, and it's absolutely crippling.

"We need a cap on energy costs for businesses as soon as possible."

The government says it is already helping pubs. It has financially supported some community buy-outs and offered tax breaks.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "We recognise the vital role pubs play in our communities and at this year's Autumn Statement we froze alcohol duty for a further six months, saving money for consumers when they visit their local.

"We also extended retail, hospitality and leisure relief - a tax cut worth nearly £2.4bn to businesses like pubs - for a fifth year."

But all that has not halted the closures. And it does seem that more communities might have to follow Ulgham and Ryton in contemplating a customer takeover to keep a key part of local life open.