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. The CLA approached 45 councils across England classified as rural. In total, 29 responded.
· More pubs are closing than opening in majority of councils, with bus routes and schools also being cut
· The CLA warns Labour tax hikes are closing down businesses, and villages with them
· Tens of 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 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 11/13 councils, 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, commented:
“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. Inheritance tax reforms are seeing investment collapse and new capital gains rules punish those trying to pass businesses on.
“When local businesses fold, they don’t just take jobs with them. They take prosperity, identity, quiet bonds that hold a place together.
“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.”
Harriet Ranson, CLA Director North, said:
“The closure of essential services such as schools, shops, pubs and post offices, sets off a spiral of terminal decline. The lack of affordable housing, transport links and digital connectivity makes the countryside a less viable place to live, work and businesses to operate in.”
“By ignoring the potential of the rural economy, successive governments have left our communities vulnerable as outdated policies have damaged the financial resilience of individuals, farming families and rural businesses.
“Government needs to now show it is ambitious for the rural economy, and work across departments to develop a serious set of policies that will grow the rural economy, create good jobs and stronger communities in all parts of the country. If this Labour government is truly committed to growth, it must make it their mission to unlock the enormous economic potential of rural areas. By doing this, the Chancellor will help fill the UK’s massive fiscal hole.”
“More locally, mayoral and unitary authorities should rural-proof their policy-making, investment decisions and economic growth plans to align with those applied in urban areas. Larger geographic areas with sparse populations require a different approaches and solutions compared to highly populated urban areas.”
Empty shops and offices piling up
There’s a soaring number of vacant shops, offices and warehouses across the countryside –putting jobs and futures at risk.
In 2024, a staggering 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.
Pubs and restaurants vanishing
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. And in Cumberland, there has been a net loss of 19 pubs since 2023.
Rural restaurants are also struggling. In four out of eleven councils, more closed than opened in the past five years. In South Cambridgeshire, 14 restaurants closed while only 9 opened during that time. In Melton, 12 closed compared to just 9 new openings.
Vital services axed
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 have cut 22 bus routes – and over 261 bus routes in the past ten years. Elsewhere, North Lincolnshire cut ten in the past five years, while the Isle of Wight stopped subsiding bus routes altogether since 2015.
Six out of seven councils have also shut primary and secondary schools in the past ten years, with Central Bedfordshire already closing one school so far this year.
