Time called on two more pubs as bar crisis bites
TWO more Tyneside bars are calling time as the crisis gripping Britain’s bars bites.
The Fusilier, which has been running in Forest Hall in North Tyneside for more than 60 years, will close on September 24.
The management team put a note on Facebook telling customers the site on Clydedale Avenue had been sold to a developer and they were “deeply shocked and saddened” to announce the “end of an era”.
The post read: “This news has come as a complete shock to us and we have been totally unaware of these plans.
“We have been informed by Trust Inns that the Fusilier pub and land has been sold to a developer.”
It went on: “As management we are deeply shocked and saddened by this news. The Fusilier has been a part of our lives for many years and we have met numerous lovely people and made many friends, had good times and created many memories.
“May we take this opportunity to thank everyone past and present who has been part of the Fusilier family, for your kindness, help, loyalty, support and friendship.”
Pub tenant Ian Macbeth said he was given two weeks’ notice to cease trading by Trust Inns.
No-one from Trust Inns was available for comment when contacted on Thursday.
Meanwhile, The Jolly Fisherman on Newcastle Quayside has closed a little over a year after it opened.
The former Waterline pub opened last summer, under a new name and new ownership following a £700,000 investment, led by Heineken’s pub business Star Pubs and Bars and pub restaurant operator David Whitehead.
Now, however, the restaurant has closed, leading to the loss of 15 jobs, after Mr Whitehead said high overheads made it impossible to sustain the business.
Mr Whitehead, who runs a number of other restaurants across the North East, said he now intends to focus on expanding his pub portfolio in coastal areas.
The restaurateur, who closed the business on Monday, said: “It’s a shame because it is a beautiful venue. It was a very sad day on Monday when I had to close. I was expecting great things from here.
“Basically it hasn’t worked for a number of reasons: the overheads for the size of the venue, high rents and business rates, and the staffing needed to run the venue. It was costing me a lot of money that I don’t have.
“The staff have been made redundant and I have paid everyone up-todate.
“I have put them in contact with people I know in the area – other businesses that are looking for staff – and I have managed to keep a few on at other venues.”
A spokesman for Star Pubs & Bars said: “We are very disappointed that the Jolly Fisherman has closed.
“The pub has been substantially renovated and the location is one of the best in Newcastle.
“We believe that the rent is very competitive given this prime location, and the refurbishment, and we hope it will open again soon as a number of people are interested in the site.”
The clsoures come as a new study shows that around 28,000 pubs across the country have closed since the 1970s.
Research by the Campaign for Real Ale found there are fewer than 50,000 pubs, with more beer now being drunk at home.
Camra called for greater support for pubs, its annual Good Beer Guide reports when Camra was formed in the early 1970s, Britain had 75,000 pubs.
The new business rates revaluation introduced in 2017 is the latest “ticking time bomb” to devastate the sector, the campaign group said.
Some of the increases, due to be phased in over a five-year period, are described as “eye-watering.”
Good Beer Guide editor, Roger Protz, said: “The British pub is unique, rooted in our island’s history, dating from Roman and Saxon times.
“There is no better place for people to meet, enjoy a beer, strike up a conversation, make new friends and put the world to rights. Above all, the British pub, both ancient and modern, has character and an atmosphere that could never be replaced.”
Camra has launched a campaign calling for an annual £5,000 reduction in business rates for every pub across England.
A Government spokesman said: “The great British pub is a national treasure and we’re backing communities that want to protect and run their local.
“We’ve already provided more than 9,000 small pubs with a £1,000 discount on their business rates bill as part of our £435m package of support for businesses.
“In addition, both pubs and their customers have saved over £2bn since 2013 thanks to changes to alcohol duty.”