Last orders as pub to become home
‘Pandemic has come at the end of a list of hardships – to push on would be totally reckless’
A RURAL village pub which has been in the same hands for more than 30 years could soon be converted into a family home.
A planning application has been submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for the change of use of the Blacksmiths Arms, Tythe Barn, Alton to a dwellinghouse.
Dennis Power, who runs the pub, says the coronavirus pandemic, as well as nearby Alton Towers – which had provided much of their trade – building their own hotels and restaurants, had led to a declide in their footfall.
Mr Power said: “Having been at the Blacksmiths since February 1989, we now know that any significant financial loss would take a number of years and a good deal of investment to start being able to live financially comfortably again.
“This pandemic unfortunately, has come at the end of a long list of significant financial hardships and so we feel that to push on would be totally reckless.
“To begin with it would take a large cash injection just to get up and running, with ongoing additional costs for some years ahead.
“As we already have prior debts, getting further loans would be difficult and would also be counterproductive.
“Alton Towers was a thriving theme park when we first came here and trade was very good indeed.
“We used to be open during the day in the week, we were surrounded by B&BS and a large motel which supported our business and six other pubs in the village.
“However, that started to decline after Alton Towers started building hotels and making evening restaurants for their guests, and now encouraging their guests to stay onsite for the duration of their visit.
“Over time, B&BS started decreasing and our nighttime trade was diminishing.
“We’ve managed our way through
one small recession, followed by the global financial crash, and before 2020 we had already made cutbacks on key members of staff and adjusting our business model
on numerous occasions to suit the times.
“Now our business is 30+ years old and needs much more than new signs.
“The investment needed to make our pub on a par with the other four pubs in the village – who all have new owners, new cash injections and fully refurbished pubs – would take a significant cash injection and we know of no lenders that would be willing to take such risky investment during these unprecedented times.
“We have also had the business up for sale for the last three years and have had no interest.
“We let our full-time staff go in 2016, as the money the business was making never justified full-time positions, working the main roles ourselves.
“We feel that over the years we have poured everything into the business to keep it afloat, but we feel that even with a cash injection the village cannot withstand four pubs and a community pub any longer.
“The pub is also our family home, and therefore we feel that adapting the property would serve its purpose better.”
A decision is expected by planners within the next eight weeks.