Pub given £20k help from city council fund
PLYMOUTH City Council has defended a decision to give £20,000 to a struggling innercity pub after it launched a Crowdfunder appeal asking for help to pay the bills.
The authority’s move to assist the Lord High Admiral, in Stonehouse, hit its £40,000 target has been questioned by other businesses battling to remain afloat during Covid-19 restrictions.
But the council has stressed it has correctly used cash from its City Change Fund and said the pub met the criteria for help.
It said the pub, which launched a “help save the Lord High Admiral” page on Crowdfunder in late 2020, was assisted financially because of its position as a “community” pub, aiding other businesses and arts organisations.
It said the money came from developers’ contributions and it had used Crowdfunder as a way of deciding where to splash it.
The pub’s Crowfunder page had said the money was for paying bills to keep it going. The Lord High Admiral has, along with other hospitality businesses, been severely affected by three lockdowns and the general economic conditions caused by the pandemic and Governmentordered restrictions.
But the local authority’s decision to bail out the business, which has amassed £47,599 in pledges at the time of writing and is now extending its target, has met with criticism from other businesses.
On Facebook Grizzly Adams Paul said: “Is PCC going to give every struggling pub, club and restaurant 20k? What about other struggling businesses? There need to be questions asked.”
Matt Lang wrote: “PCC give them a ‘donation’ what about the rest of the pubs struggling?”
And Maureen Leary said: “Thought council had no money, that’s why we are all having to pay a lot more council tax next year.”
On the WMN sister website Plymouth Live website, one reader commented: “What about other small businesses that are struggling, we are a café just down the road and we are also struggling to survive through lack of customers through Covid constraints and zero foot fall.”
Another said: “Plymouth Council gave a private business £20,000? Do we get to share in the profits?”
Alistair “Ali” Skitt, who owns the Lord High Admiral with Holly Smith, told Plymouth Live he was aware of some “negativity” from parts of the business community, saying: “We don’t know if we deserve it (council funding) or don’t deserve it more than other businesses, but we knew we needed to ask for help.”
Plymouth City Council stressed the City Change Fund is about “supporting local projects” and is a way of distributing Community Infrastructure Levy money through “a partnership” with Crowdfunder. The levy is not taxpayer’s cash. In its first five years, the council pledged £475,010 to 93 projects through Crowdfund Plymouth from refurbishing playgrounds to community celebrations.