Pub planning protections will not stop closures, trade warns

Property developers will have to prove there is no reasonable prospect of a pub surviving before it can be turned into flats or offices, under changes to the National Planning Policy Framework announced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, but industry figures have warned the new protections will not stop pubs closing.

At least 1,836 pubs have closed since the start of 2025, according to figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Experts from the construction and hospitality sectors said the reforms would not prevent pub closures in the first place, pointing to rising taxes, alcohol duty and higher wage costs.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said the Government would need to go further to reverse the effect of decisions taken by Rachel Reeves, the former chancellor.

He said: “There has been an increase in the closure of hospitality businesses across the board over the last two years because of this Government’s actions.

“The fundamental and core point here is the cost of running the pubs in the first place, and I would encourage the Government to be more concerned about reversing the damage of the past two years than with concerning itself with what happens to the building after that pub has stopped being viable.”

Wet-led pubs make about 3p of profit for every £1 spent at the bar, according to research by comparison website money.co.uk using data from the British Beer and Pub Association. That equates to 16p on an average pint costing £5.17.

Alcohol duty has risen by 3.66 per cent this year, while increases to the National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions are also adding to costs.

Jordan Connachie, managing director of property developer Kori Construction, said the planning reforms would lead to “a load of empty pubs up and down the country”.

“Planning designations don’t touch any of that,” he said.

“If the Government wants pubs to survive, the fix is in duty, business rates relief, and wage cost support – not in stopping a failing building becoming something that actually works economically.”

Steve Hesmondhalgh, a planning consultant, said protecting pubs through the planning system “sounds noble, but it is 20 years too late and aimed at the wrong problem”.

“All tougher restrictions will likely do is leave some buildings empty for longer, while owners wait for a pub use that no longer works,” he said.

“Would we rather have a dead pub or a building with a new life?”

Wyn Evans, founder of planning-feedback company Shared Voices, said that if the Government “genuinely wants to save pubs, it should address the economics of running them – not make it harder to use their empty buildings for something else”.

“These rules can make matters worse for pubs,” he said. “They may trap publicans in unviable businesses, deter investment and prevent adaptations that could keep pubs trading.”

Others backed the changes. Camra praised the reforms for “putting more power into local people’s hands to help them save successful and valued locals from greedy developers trying to cash in”.

The Government has been contacted for comment.

Jamie Young

Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk