Stockport bucks trend as number of pubs and bars falls to eight-year low

While the number of operating pubs and bars across Greater Manchester has had the sharpest drop in eight years, Stockport has bucked the trend with the number of venues increasing as new bars have opened in the town centre.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics demonstrates how badly the region as a whole has been hit by the pandemic. In March 2021 there were 30 fewer venues open in Greater Manchester than there had been in March 2020, the sharpest fall since 2014. Alongside Stockport, Bolton and Salford also saw an increase of around five venues each. Across the UK, over 1,000 pubs and bars closed between March 2020 – March 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic forced hospitality businesses to close.

Despite the challenges for the hospitality sector in trading during the pandemic, Stockport town centre has welcomed a number of new bars and restaurants, such as cocktail bar, Cherry Jam (pictured), and Bistro Marc, set to open early this year in the former Winter’s building.

Greater Manchester’s night-time economy adviser Sacha Lord has lamented the loss of community pubs across much of the city-region. However, he is optimistic that relaxed restrictions are seeing people return to the hospitality sector: retail sales data for January published by the ONS has also found sales of food have fallen as the easing of restrictions and end of work-from-home guidance means more meals are being eaten out of the home. Sacha Lord commented:

“I am absolutely adamant that we need to do more to protect community pubs. It was heartbreaking when we went into lockdown hearing the stories of pubs saying they weren’t going to be able to make it.

“With pubs, bars, restaurants back to being busy the public perception is that things are back to normal – in many ways they’re right but the problem is now businesses have incurred so much debt through the lockdowns that they’re now having to repay loans, repay family, rent deferrals are coming to an end.

“It’s going to take at least three years to get back to pre-covid levels in terms of finance.”