Time called on pub saved by campaign
AVILLAGE’S only pub, which had been saved by a community campaign, will not reopen again.
With pubs around the country now reopening, the Prince William in Dalton, near Skelmersdale, has been boarded up and will be sold by brewery Robinson’s.
The pub was earmarked for closure this year and staff given two week notices, only for residents to rally together and convince the brewery to give it a sixmonth stay of execution.
The campaigners and landlord Dave Roy were delighted by the reprieve and hoped to use the time to convince Robinson’s that the pub could have a sustainable future.
William Robinson, managing director for the brewery, said in March that the six months would be used to “see if the pub can be brought back to a sustainable trading level and saved from closure”.
But the hospitality industry has been badly hit during the lockdown and that plan has now been axed, with the landlord confirming that the pub was boarded up on July 1 and put up for sale.
Dave Galvin was among those leading the campaign to save the pub and had met Mr Robinson as part of efforts to secure that sixmonth reprieve.
He and his family had only recently moved to village and were partly attracted to it as the pub was useful place for their severely disabled daughter to socialise with the community.
Reacting to the decision, he said he was sad to see the pub go but appreciated the brewery’s support in granting the initial extension. He added that the campaign to save the pub now seems inappropriate when other, more successful, businesses were struggling in the wake of coronavirus.
Mr Galvin said: “We’re positive but disappointed that it’s closed. Positive in that Robinson’s listened to us and were excited and willing to give us a reprieve.
“We were overwhelmed by that and everything was going really well, we had lots of support in the community.
“But then like a shutter coming down, all pubs were closed.”
Mr Robinson kept in touch with the family during the pandemic and initially warned that the pub may not reopen as the brewery faced difficult decisions throughout its portfolio. That news has now been confirmed and the family are left hoping a new community-led use can be found for the pub.
Mr Galvin said: “What we don’t want is an empty pub sat there. We’re just hoping that someone can come along and get that building into something the community can benefit from.
“It’s a sad loss but I hope that there’s a purposeful use for the community in the future.”
Robinson’s were contacted for comment.