Thousands of pubs, shops and bus routes closing across countryside

• Freedom of Information requests show hollowing out of rural communities – with over 17,000 shops, offices and warehouses sitting empty last year and some areas already seeing record vacancies in 2025
• More pubs are closing than opening in majority of councils, with bus routes and schools also being cut
• Country Land and Business Association (CLA) warns government tax hikes are closing down businesses, and villages with them.
  
  Thousands of pubs, shops, bus routes and services have closed across rural communities in the past year alone, according to Freedom of Information requests compiled by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) – threatening jobs, futures and community life.
  
  The CLA approached 45 councils across England classified as rural. In total, 29 responded. The findings show:
  
• Mass closures: the number of vacant shops, offices and warehouses reached over 17,000 in 2024. And in a third of councils, the number of empty properties so far in 2025 has already surpassed last year’s figures
• Pubs vanishing: In the majority of council areas that responded, more pubs closed than opened in the past five years – with nearly half losing pubs at double or even triple the rate they’re being replaced
• Vital services axed: numerous councils are closing bus routes and schools, with West Northamptonshire cutting 22 bus routes this year alone.

Victoria Vyvyan, CLA President, said: “The shops are shutting, pubs are vanishing, and buses are no longer coming. Give it time, and communities will go too.

“Labour’s attacks on business are damaging the economy in rural areas. Raising national insurance is resulting in job losses, and inheritance tax reforms are seeing investment collapse."

“It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right policy platform rural businesses could create £40bn of new growth. Government must stop these attacks and work with us to grow the economy, rather than hold us back.”

There’s a soaring number of vacant shops, offices and warehouses across the countryside. In 2024, 17,478 commercial properties claimed empty property relief across 23 councils. And in a third of those areas, the number of vacant properties in 2025 has already surpassed last year’s total, with five months of the year still to go.

Five councils are seeing record vacancies this year. In Cornwall, 1,812 properties are already sitting empty, compared to 1,647 in 2024. South Norfolk has seen a rise from 359 to 379, while in West Devon, the total has reached 172, up from 154 – the highest in a decade.

In over half of councils, the number of vacant properties in 2024 was higher than in 2020, indicating economic decline over time.

Some of the worst-hit areas last year were North Yorkshire and Wiltshire, with over 4,100 and 2,500 vacant properties respectively.

The data also revealed pubs – the heart of village life – are rapidly disappearing.

In 11 of 13 rural councils that supplied data, more pubs closed than opened over the past five years. In nearly half of those areas, the rate of closures was double or even triple that of new openings – threatening livelihoods and leaving communities without vital places to gather.

In West Lindsey, 12 pubs have closed since 2020, while just one has opened. The Isle of Wight saw nine closures and four openings in the past five years, and in Melton, six pubs shut their doors while only one opened. In the past three years alone, East Riding lost 25 pubs, compared to just nine new openings.

Rural restaurants are also struggling. In South Cambridgeshire, 14 restaurants closed while only nine opened during that time and in Melton, 12 closed compared to nine openings.

Essential services like bus routes and schools are also vanishing. Of the seven councils who supplied data, all had withdrawn bus routes in the past five years – making it harder for people to travel to work, socialise and access healthcare or education.

This year alone, West Northamptonshire has cut 22 bus routes – and over 261 bus routes in the past ten years. In North Lincolnshire ten have been cut in the past five years.

Tom Holliday, resident of Market Weighton in East Riding of Yorkshire, said: “In the past year alone, we’ve lost a string of local pubs, restaurants and businesses. In many towns in our area, the high street feels quieter than I’ve known it – with more empty shops, more shutters, and the odd coffee shop popping up where once there was choice.

“It’s not just hurting our quality of life – it’s driving people away. I know many farmers and business owners whose kids haven’t come back after university because there’s nothing for them here now, putting their life’s work at risk."