How many pubs every single London borough has lost since 2000

London has been losing its pubs at an alarming rate for the past two decades. Despite efforts to protect the capital’s boozers, coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns resulted in the hundreds of venues shutting down. It means that since 2000 more than half of the capital’s pubs have closed their doors.

But which borough has lost the most pubs in the past two decades? Exclusive data shared with MyLondon by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) reveals where the problem is worst.

The list is arranged by the percentage of boozers lost. This is because while some boroughs, like Westminister, have had a lot of pubs close there was a much higher number to begin with.

READ MORE:’Rise in drinking at home, threat of developers and challenge to make money’: Understanding why London’s pubs are dying out

Fewest pubs lost: Richmond Upon Thames – 17.3 per cent / 46 lost pubs

The West London borough of Richmond has lost the fewest pubs by a considerable margin, despite it having one of the lowest populations. It has double the number of open pubs (220) than many of the boroughs with more people.

Since 2000, Richmond has never lost more than 5 pubs in a single year. The 46 closed venues represent a 17.3% decline, the lowest by a long way.

Westminster – 19.5 per cent / 199 lost pubs

London’s drinking venues have been closing in large numbers for the past two decades

Although Westminster has lost the more pubs of any other borough in the past two decades, the 821 remaining venues mean that there are still nearly a hundred venues per square mile in the central London district.

However, coronavirus has hit central London harder than any other part of the capital. In the past two years more pubs closed (25) in Westminster than anywhere else. Heavily reliant on trade from tourists and office workers, the survival of its pubs will depend on the nature of the capital’s recovery.

Bexley – 19.8 per cent / 41 lost pubs

Recently, Bexley won praise from CAMRA for the sudden influx of micro-pubs-independent one-room pubs serving hyper-local products often operating in an atypical space like an old shop.

With 166 pubs still operating in the South East borough Bexley is one of the healthiest places for boozers in London.

Bromley – 20.7 per cent / 58 lost pubs

Next door to Bexley is Bromley, a borough which has also lost a smaller percentage of its public houses than other areas.

Although, while the 58 pubs the area has lost might compare favourably overall, it’s worth considering that, measuring around 58 square miles in size, this is London’s largest borough. The 332,000 people who occupy it means that the 3 pubs per square mile operating in Bromley have plenty of potential customers to draw from.

Havering 21 per cent / 35 lost pubs

The east London borough of Havering has only lost 35 pubs in the past two decades. However, the number of drinking establishments in the area has been historically lower than others.

With just 132 boozers spread over 43 square miles, Havering has the fewest pubs per square mile in London.

Hillingdon – 21.5 per cent / 81 lost pubs

Local MP Boris Johnson is not afraid of popping into one of Hillingdon’s many pubs for a photo opp behind the bar . The 295 pubs still operating in the borough put it comfortably at the top of outer London boroughs.

Like Bromley and Havering, Hillingdon’s large geographic size and relatively large population mean that the 6 pubs per square mile have more potential customers than other areas.

Sutton – 21.6 per cent / 29 lost pubs

With just 29 pubs shutting their doors since 2000, Sutton has had the joint fewest closures in London.

Although far smaller and less populated than the likes of Hillingdon or Bromley, the lower number of pubs in the area historically means the 102 pubs that remain open have always had less competition.

Hammersmith and Fulham – 21.8 per cent / 61 lost pubs

The relatively small borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is well stocked with boozers and has 33 for each one of its 6 square miles.

An area popular with tourists and containing the football stadiums of Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers the lifting of restrictions will have helped out the borough’s 215 pubs.

But it is perhaps the protection from property developers rather than coronavirus that has helped most. The vast majority (49) of the 61 pubs that closed did so in the years before 2017-when law changes offered drinking establishments better protection. Only 5 places closed in the 2020-21 period when Covid hit.

Harrow – 22.1 per cent / 45 lost pubs

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North West London borough Harrow lost 45 pubs since 2000, reducing the overall total to 159. It was one of just 5 boroughs that didn’t lose a single boozer last year.

The 8 pubs per square mile scattered across the rolling hills that overlook the city make it one of the more sparsely served areas.

Kingston Upon Thames – 22.2 per cent / 43 lost pubs

Kingston Upon Thames was another borough that didn’t have a pub close its doors in 2021. The west London area still has 151 open drinking establishments.

Like many London boroughs, closures in Kingston peaked in the two-year period between 2010-12 when the capital lost 486 pubs in just three years.

Ealing – 22.4 per cent / 71 lost pubs

A claim to fame for the pubs of Ealing is that former Vietnam president Ho Chi Minh worked in one of its drinking establishments in the early part of the 20th century.

The so-called ‘Queen of the Suburbs’ has had 71 pubs close its doors in the past two decades, but, with 246 boozers still open and 11 places per square mile, there are still plenty of places for a future world leader to pull you a pint.

Kensington and Chelsea – 23.1 per cent / 66 lost pubs

Kensington and Chelsea’s most famous pub landlord is singer James Blunt. The ‘You’re Beautiful’ singer revealed before Christmas he intended to spend 2022 taste-testing beers in Europe and beyond for his pub the Fox and Pheasant .

With around 45 pubs per square mile in the West borough, Blunt has plenty of competition.

Waltham Forest – 23.4 per cent / 47 lost pubs

The cost of buying a house in Waltham Forest has skyrocketed in the past few years and with 10 pubs per square mile, you can understand why people might be flocking to the east London district.

Pubs have been closing at a far slower rate than in other areas of the capital. Before 2020 saw off 5 of the borough’s pubs, only had three closed in the five years which preceded the global pandemic.

Camden – 23.5 per cent / 133 lost pubs

With 133 pubs closing since 2000 Camden is amongst the highest number of overall figures. But the huge number of pubs in the North London district means that there are still 433 venues, making it comfortably one of the top five boroughs with the most pubs.

Areas like Camden Town, Hampstead and Tottenham Court Road all have well-established stretches filled with pubs that have stood there for generations. While the rebooted Kings Cross has established a whole load of new drinking spots.

Hackney – 23.7 per cent / 117 lost pubs

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The landlord at the Bind Beggar pub in Hackney rings the bell for last orders

As far as famous London pubs go you don’t get much more iconic than Hackney. The heartland of the East End boozer still has famous spots like the Blind Beggar , where Ronnie Kray infamously murdered George Cornell.

But the past two decades have transformed Hackney from a predominantly working-class neighbourhood to one of the most expensive parts of the city. Two-thirds (71) of the area’s 117 closed pubs shut their doors between 2000 and 2010 when the area began to rapidly change.

The borough still has a healthy 376 pubs, but these are very different places to the ones that made Hackney famous.

Greenwich – 24 per cent / 76 lost pubs

According to Trip Advisor, Greenwich has one of the best pubs in London in the form of The Prince of Greenwich Pub where the unique and ornate decor proved a hit with more than 500 people who gave it a 5* rating.

Nearly a quarter of the borough’s drinking establishments have been lost in the past two decades. But with 13 pubs for every square mile there are still a fair few for locals and tourists to review.

City of London – 24.1 per cent / 116 lost pubs

Unsurprisingly it’s the ‘Square Mile’ of the City of London which packs in more boozers than any other part of the capital. The 366 remaining pubs located behind the traditional walls of the city mean that you can’t move for drinking spots.

However, like Westminster, coronavirus has brutally affected the district. In 2020 there were 21 closures which was nearly double the compared to the next highest borough.

Whether tourists return in the numbers needed to keep the abundance of pubs in central London afloat remains to be seen. Likewise, these places’ survival depends on office leases being maintained and workers flocking to the old city to the extent they used to.

Lambeth – 24.4 per cent / 113 lost pubs

Stretching from Crystal Palace in the South to Waterloo in the North, the borough of Lambeth has a wide variety of neighbourhoods packed into its 10 square miles. Brixton, Waterloo and Vauxhall are just a few of the most famous spots to grab a pint.

But the borough is also one of the fastest-changing. Skyscrapers have shot up across the district and the cost of living has increased substantially. A quarter of its pubs have disappeared in that time and although it still boasts 33 pubs per square mile the question is where are they concentrated and who do they serve?

Hounslow – 24.4 per cent / 64 lost pubs

A demonstration of how the number of lost pubs does not necessarily tell you the whole story can be found with Hounslow. Nearly half the number of public houses have closed in the West London borough compared to Lambeth, but the impact on the overall picture is exactly the same.

The area which stretches from Chiswick to Heathrow airport has 198 remaining venues giving it 9 pubs per square mile.

Merton – 24.5 per cent / 46 lost pubs

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Pubs in Wimbledon in London, Britain 22 February 2022. Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon

Tennis fans might flock to the borough of Merton once a year and help fill the coffers of the area’s public houses, but its still lost close to quarter of its venues in the past decade.

Last year it lost one of its most well-loved and award-winning boozers in The Trafalgar, which, despite being praised for its lockdown takeaway service, shut down.

Islington – 24.8 per cent / 148 lost pubs

Only two boroughs had more pubs close than Islington since 2000, with the area losing 148 of its boozers.

The reason it’s not higher up the list is that it’s also in the top five for the number of remaining public houses with a huge 449. Islington is London’s most densely populated borough, which is fortunate for the 78 pubs per square mile the inner London district still possesses.

Wandsworth – 24.9 per cent / 97 lost pubs

Wandsworth is one of London’s many neighbourhoods that’s undergone a serious transformation in the past 20 years. The Battersea Power station has gone from crumbling icon to centrepiece of a massive new residential development. Many have complained that the new homes being brought to the borough haven’t solved its housing needs and sit as empty offshore investments for wealthy people overseas .

Well over a third of the 97 pubs which have closed since 2000 did so after the Power Station redevelopment began.

Brent – 26.1 per cent / 79 lost pubs

Another huge hub of London redevelopment lies in Brent around Wembley stadium. But if you thought the influx of housing, much of which is rented accommodation, was going to help the pubs maintain enough customers you’d be wrong.

Over a quarter of Brent’s boozers have been lost since the year 2000.

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Lewisham – 26.8 per cent / 78 lost pubs

Lewisham has previously had the honour of having the cheapest Wetherspoons pint in the whole of London , with a glass of John Smith’s costing patrons just £1.80 at The Watch House.

But low prices have not been enough to stop the drinking establishments in the south London borough stay afloat with 26.8% of its pubs closing their doors in the past two decades.

Enfield – 27 per cent / 68 lost pubs

The pandemic left Enfield’s pubs relatively unscathed, only two closed in 2020-21. However the steady shuttering of public houses across the North London borough means that it is still amongst those to have lost the highest proportions since 2000.

There are still 184 pubs operating in the borough giving it 5 pubs per square mile.

Southwark – 28.3 per cent / 196 lost pubs

Only Westminster has lost more pubs than Southwark since the year 2000. Most of these closures in the south London district came in the first ten years of the new millennium.

The area contains many of the old dockland areas which were substantially redeveloped at the turn of the century and it was this period when venues closed in huge numbers.

The rate of pub closures has slowed in the decade just passed, but it remains one of the worst affected.

Barking & Dagenham – 28.4 per cent / 29 lost pubs

Barking & Dagenham has lost the fewest pubs of any London borough since 2000. But with only 73 pubs left in the borough the impact on overall proportion lost is significant.

The area has been ranked as the most deprived in London which raises an interesting question about the role this plays in pub closures. Richmond, which has a similar sized population, but is much wealthier, has three times the number of pubs.

Barnet – 28.6 per cent / 77 lost pubs

London’s most populated borough Barnet has had nearly a third of its public houses close in the past two decades.

Although it also covers an incredibly large area, you have to question where the near 400,000 residents are getting their drinks. At just 5 pubs per square mile it’s amongst the hardest boroughs to find a place for a pint and, given its size, suggests it isn’t the place to plan a pub crawl.

Tower Hamlets – 28.9 per cent / 185 lost pubs

Without a doubt, Tower Hamlets has undergone one of biggest transformations of any London borough in the past two decades. The spike in pub closures in the east end neighbourhood previously known as the heart of London’s docklands can be traced in a similar fashion to Southwark, redevelopment completely changed the area.

From the turn of the century to 2012, when the area was one of those to host the Olympic Games venues, 144 pubs disappeared.

More people now work on the Isle Dogs since it has become London’s new financial district than did when it was dockland, but there are fewer pubs to serve them. Nevertheless, with 455 remaining venues it is behind only Westminster in the overall number of pubs.

Haringey – 29 per cent / 76 lost pubs

One Haringey boozer made headlines for the wrong reasons during lockdown when it was caught selling food, alcohol and shisha while restrictions were in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 . The area only had 5 venues close in the Covid-hit years of 2020-21.

But the larger trend has been of a borough where there are fewer places to drink than there once were. Nearly a third of the district’s pubs have shut their doors, but the 186 that remain give the 10-mile area a healthy 16 pubs per square mile.

Redbridge – 29.2 per cent / 38 lost pubs

As with Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge’s place higher up the list is partially a result of the borough having fewer pubs than other parts of London at the turn of the century.

Redbridge has had 38 pubs closing their doors since 2000, leaving it with 92 drinking establishments.

Croydon – 31 per cent / 113 lost pubs

With the second-highest population of all the London boroughs, the death of Croydon’s pubs is keenly felt. An average of nearly 10 pubs per year have been closing in the south London district in the past two decades. Around a third of the area’s pubs are now missing.

Most recently the beloved Wetherspoon’s Milan Bar shut its doors leaving punters who’d visited the venue for over a decade with nowhere to go .

Most pubs lost: Newham – 32.8 per cent / 103 lost pubs

Newham was meant to be the area that would benefit most from the 2012 Olympic Games. But almost exactly a third of the boozers that were a trademark of the area are gone, making it the borough with the most closed pubs in London.

The majority of these venues were lost in the years leading up to the games and 10 years on many parts of the neighbourhood are unrecognisable.

Although the area does boast the largest Wetherspoons beer garden in the capital , it hardly makes up for the loss of 103 pubs.

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