New blow for town's pubs
An Oswestry pub's future was hanging in the balance today after its owners closed it down. An Oswestry pub's future was hanging in the balance today after its owners closed it down. The effects of the smoking ban, which came into force last year, and the economic downturn are continuing to hit the licensed trade hard. The Castle Inn, in Castle Street, is now boarded up and may no longer be a pub after its freehold was put on the market for £225,000. It follows a special report by the Shropshire Star at the weekend which revealed that more than one pub a month is closing its doors in the county because of tougher licensing laws, the smoking ban and increases in alcohol duty. Elsewhere in Oswestry, The Vaults, The Unicorn and The Tavernae are also shut - while last week it was revealed that in Shrewsbury Bar Med and Yate's were closing. Read more in the Shropshire Star
An Oswestry pub's future was hanging in the balance today after its owners closed it down.
The effects of the smoking ban, which came into force last year, and the economic downturn are continuing to hit the licensed trade hard.
The Castle Inn, in Castle Street, is now boarded up and may no longer be a pub after its freehold was put on the market for £225,000.
It follows a special report by the Shropshire Star at the weekend which revealed that more than one pub a month is closing its doors in the county because of tougher licensing laws, the smoking ban and increases in alcohol duty.
Elsewhere in Oswestry, The Vaults, The Unicorn and The Tavernae are also shut - while last week it was revealed that in Shrewsbury Bar Med and Yate's were closing.London-based property agency Paramount Investments, which is selling the Castle Inn on behalf of the owners, today said it was unlikely to reopen as a pub.
Paramount's managing director Mark Greig said: "The pub trade is going through troubled times thanks to last year's poor summer, the smoking ban and fears of a recession.
"If no one from the hospitality industry steps forward to buy The Castle, it could cease to be a pub at all."
A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns said: "The Castle Inn is being sold because it doesn't fit Admiral's pub portfolio."
Figures from CGA Strategy Ltd, a leading trade research and consultancy company, show a total of 17 pubs closed in Shropshire last year, but during that time only three pubs were opened.
The data, which covers the period between December 2006 and December 2007, paints a gloomy picture for the industry.
The British Beer and Pub Association said that across the UK as a whole, nearly 30 pubs a week are closing and that figure has risen 14 times in the last 12 months.
Bill Benyon, an Oswestry borough councillor and former licensee, said he was very concerned. "In 25 years in the trade I have never seen the situation so bad for landlords," he said.
"The pub culture is in danger of disappearing as people can buy alcohol in supermarkets so cheaply these days."
