07/06/2026
In a city where students make up about a quarter of the population, their absence is felt during the holidays in Nottingham.
A number of businesses close during the summer months due to dwindling demand from their usual visitors.
Among them is The White Hart in Lenton run by Ian Shepphard, who said: “We have customers in term time, when they go – I close the pub.”
In 2023, Ian continued serving throughout the summer but suffered a loss of about £50,000. Whereas by closing for eight weeks, he loses about £16,000 instead.
“If they weren’t here, Nottingham wouldn’t be a city. The students run the economy, but I think Nottingham has become reliant on that now," he said.
Ian told the Nottingham Post how the previous Saturday, The White Hart had taken thousands of pounds in just four hours, but the following day it took only £200.
“If it weren’t for the students, we would close,” he said.
Rosie Boulton, shop assistant at the costume shop Luvyababes in the Victoria Centre, explained that it wasn’t just the shop’s custom that took a hit, but also the number of staff available.
Beth, head of house at the Beeston bakery and café Doughter, said that whilst their business manages well with regular customers, “there definitely is an impact".
"You feel it when students go home on the high street, and you can see what it does to other businesses. It’s like a quietness goes over the city,” she said.
Thomas Polka, general manager of The Playwright pub, in Shakespeare Street, near the Nottingham Trent University city campus, said: “Being on the edge of the campus, you’re always going to be a student pub. For us, the challenge now is to attract everybody when students are not here.
“The whole year is busy, apart from August when, after graduations, everybody goes home.
“A lot of businesses in town depend on students, so you can see the natural slowdown when the student population is gone because Nottingham is such a student-driven city.”
A joint report by Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham in 2024 found that the two universities make up around 14% of the local economy and provide 25,000 jobs in Nottinghamshire.
