I agree with Howard too. Add the fact that 56 pubs a week are closing at the moment, and a lot of pub function rooms are having their useage changed (restaurants etc) just to raise the landlord some cash, not to mention the changes in licensing laws, makes it hadly surprising that the Folk clubs as I knew them in the seventies, in the main, aren't there anymore.
In London 25 years ago, you could go to a folk club every night of the week, sometimes having the choice of several options.
Scratching my head, I can think of 7 or 8 nowadays, spread out over a very wide area.
As for clubs being beneficial to local communities. Just not true. Yes, organisers might live locally, but I'm sure that audiences travel far and wide to see thir favouite artists. I very much doubt that (especially in large cities) the local community even know of their existence!