Losing our locals

From time to time, I receive ready-made stories from other websites that have some relevance to this region.

Here’s one – from  The Punters Page – you may find interesting.

New research has ranked Somerset among 318 councils across Great Britain by the percentage of pubs lost since 2010. Also, look at where B&NES sits in the table!

The study, by sports betting & stats site The Punters Page, analysed Office for National Statistics counts of pubs and bars in 318 councils across Great Britain between 2010 and 2025.

How Somerset compares with the rest of the South West

Somerset has lost 21.9% of its pubs since 2010, which places it eighth in the South West. Its pub count fell from 570 to 445 over the period.

Plymouth and Swindon jointly top the South West after each losing 28.6% of their pubs, and Cheltenham comes last, having grown its pub count by 17.6%.

Across the South West, the pub count fell from 4,825 in 2010 to 4,005 in 2025, a fall of 17.0%.

Somerset and the councils on either side of it in the South West by percentage of pubs lost since 2010:

National rank	Rank in area	Council	Change in pubs	Pubs in 2010	Pubs in 2025
33	3	Gloucester	-26.7%	75	55
33	3	Torridge	-26.7%	75	55
34	4	Forest of Dean	-26.3%	95	70
36	5	Tewkesbury	-25.0%	60	45
39	6	Wiltshire	-24.2%	495	375
42	7	Bath and North East Somerset	-23.7%	190	145
49	8	Somerset	-21.9%	570	445
52	9	North Somerset	-21.2%	165	130
54	10	Torbay	-20.8%	120	95
59	11	East Devon	-19.2%	130	105
60	12	Stroud	-19.0%	105	85
70	13	Cotswold	-17.4%	115	95

How Somerset compares with the rest of Britain

Somerset sits joint 49th of the 144 places on a national list that runs from the biggest percentage fall in pubs to the biggest rise.

East Ayrshire and South Holland jointly top the national ranking after each losing 50.0% of their pubs, and Hackney in London comes last, having grown its pub count by 87.5%.

Pub numbers have risen since 2010 in 26 of the 318 councils.

Top 10 councils in Great Britain by percentage of pubs lost since 2010:

National rank	Council	Region or nation	Nation	Change in pubs	Pubs in 2010	Pubs in 2025
1	East Ayrshire	Scotland	Scotland	-50.0%	80	40
1	South Holland	East Midlands	England	-50.0%	70	35
2	South Ayrshire	Scotland	Scotland	-44.4%	90	50
3	Halton	North West	England	-43.8%	80	45
4	Luton	East of England	England	-42.9%	70	40
5	Scottish Borders	Scotland	Scotland	-40.0%	75	45
5	Woking	South East	England	-40.0%	50	30
6	Gosport	South East	England	-36.4%	55	35
6	Moray	Scotland	Scotland	-36.4%	55	35
6	Spelthorne	South East	England	-36.4%	55	35
7	Cannock Chase	West Midlands	England	-35.7%	70	45
8	West Lothian	Scotland	Scotland	-35.3%	85	55
9	Ceredigion	Wales	Wales	-35.0%	100	65
10	Wrexham	Wales	Wales	-34.8%	115	75

Note: The Office for National Statistics rounds each council’s pub count to the nearest five, so the order of East Ayrshire, South Holland, South Ayrshire, Halton, Luton and Woking could change with exact counts.

James Byrne, Head of Content at The Punters Page, commented on the findings:

“The local has long been where people gather to watch the football, the racing and the big fights together, and every closure takes that shared room away from a town or village. If your area still has a pub, the best way to keep it is to use it, from match days to quiz nights, as a busy pub is far harder to close than a quiet one.”

Methodology

The study analysed Office for National Statistics counts of pubs and bars in 318 councils across Great Britain from 2010 to 2025, measuring the percentage change in each council’s pub count against a 2010 baseline. Councils with fewer than 50 pubs in 2010 are not ranked, which leaves out 32 of Britain’s 350 councils.

Data captured on 21 September 2026.

Sources used for this story are:

Office for National Statistics, UK Business Counts, Open Government Licence v3.0 – https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/idbrlu