20% drop in West Norfolk’s pub count

West Norfolk has lost more than one in five of its pubs since 2010, according to official figures.

Data from the Office of National Statistics shows West Norfolk homed 110 pubs and bar in 2010, but by 2017 these had fallen to 85, with 25 closing their doors for good.

Pubs have been pointing to the taxman for their troubles, complaining about the duty on beer, VAT levels and the cost of business rates.

In Northwold, villagers have been clubbing together to raise money to “Save The Crown Inn”.

Chairman of Save The Crown Inn, Mark Vandersta, said they recently made an offer to the pub’s current owners after raising £100,000 to buy the premises.

He said: “Together we’ve begun building a solid amount of funds to purchase The Crown. The amount raised so far has exceeded our expectations.

“Seeing people’s commitment to something that we’ve been working on for so long now is tremendously encouraging and our spirits are truly buoyed as we move on to the next step.

“Last week we made an offer to the current owners, Dave and Cheryl, who turned it down very quickly.

“It’s our opinion that the pub means more to the village than ‘Just a pub’. Our offer reflected the value of the premises, as advised by an independent professional, plus a premium for the goodwill.

“We’re currently considering our options here because the offer itself was high and at an amount that is already above the advised value of the premises.”

Across the UK 5,745 pubs closed in the last seven-years, and there are 54 local authorities where 30 or more shut.

Chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, Brigid Simmonds said:”We are calling on the Government to cut beer duty in the upcoming November budget.

“Seven in ten alcoholic drinks sold in a pub are beer, so cutting beer duty is the most direct way of helping pubs. This is why we are backing the Long Live the Local campaign to cut beer tax.”