PUB closures across the UK are now running at the rate of 12 a week, according to figures from real ale group CAMRA.
And Yorkshire has lost 21 pubs in the six months to March – with more than 300 shutting their doors for good across the country during that time.
CAMRA revealed the tally of closures as its stepped up a campaign for people to sign its online petition calling for a freeze in beer duty.
In Huddersfield a popular local, The Flyboat, in Aspley, has been put up for sale by its owners.
And The Boy and Barrel in the town centre has closed because of problems with the Huddersfield Hotel.
The figures show that Lancashire and West Midlands were the worst-hit for pub closures between September and March. Lancashire lost 68 pubs while West Midlands saw 37 closures.
London, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire and Kent were also among those logging double-digit closures.
CAMRA said “crippling” beer tax increases continued to threaten the future of traditional pubs. Beer duty has rise by 42% since 2008 at the hands of successive Chancellors.
More than 33,000 consumers have signed the national e-petition – at www.camra.org.uk/saveyourpint – to bring an end to above inflation beer tax increases. The petition was launched in the wake of a 5% rise in duty in the March budget.
However, CAMRA’s research suggests that almost three-quarters of regular pub goers support a freeze in beer duty.
The group is lobbying to secure 100,000 signatures and force a debate on the issue in Parliament.
Mike Benner, CAMRA chief executive, said: “Whether situated in a small village, city high street or on the edge of a housing estate, pubs are so central to our society that whole communities can grow around a particular pub.
“A threat to the future of traditional pubs is therefore also a threat to countless social groups within Britain that thrive because of their local.
‘Unsustainable beer tax increases by the Government are ripping the heart out of community centres, but with over 33,000 consumers having recently signed the beer tax e-petition, beer drinkers and pub goers are actively voicing their discontent.”
