The (in)famous British drinking culture keeps taking blows as 18 pubs close every week according to new research done by The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
The new study, featured on the Evening Standard, has also revealed that since March this year, 450 pubs have had to shut down and close their doors to costumers all over the country.
“As today’s pub closures figures show, the future of Britain’s valued community pubs remains in jeopardy,” said Mike Benner, Chief Executive of CAMRA.
The report has been released ahead of today’s House of Commons debate on the Beer Duty Escalator, which means that the annual rise in beer duty is 2% higher than the inflation every year.
However, this could mean good news for those looking for a home- as squatting in a commercial property is only a civil offence, rather than a criminal one. A group of 17 squatters have taken over The Cross Keys, one of the oldest pubs in London. A newly released BBC report looks at the way of living of the group, who claim to clean the place, maintain it free of rodents and stop humidity from ruining it.
“We offered to look after the property while prospective buyers looked around.,” Marine Costa, a 21 year old Portuguese theatre student told the BBC. ”We were hoping to stay here until the place was sold and protect it from theft and becoming damp.”
By Sumy Sadurni
Photos Courtesy of ell brown/Flickr and Gerhard Suster/Fotopedia
