A South Lakeland inn whose annual energy bill is set to rise by £80,000 has vowed to do all it can to survive.
Chris Moss, a director of Westmorland Hospitality, which runs the Fleece, as well as the Duke of Cumberland and The Gateway Inn in the town, said: “I was absolutely horrified. We had obviously expected the charge to rise but I had to ring the broker and double check the figure I had been given. And the price has probably increased again since then.”
The company is still waiting to discover what it will have to pay in electricity charges at its other two inns and what the gas charges will be for all three.
Chris added: “The staff at the Fleece are absolutely stressed out about all this and are worried about their jobs. But we appreciate how important our inns are to the community. I want to assure staff and local people that we will do all we can to keep serving the community going forward, no matter what.”
He warned there was a danger that the whole hospitality sector could collapse in the UK and was fearful of the impact rising energy prices would have on all businesses and on GP surgeries and nursing homes.
Chris said: “Unless something is done about this, we are going to have an absolute catastrophe this winter in terms of businesses shutting and towns becoming ghost towns. This is a ticking timebomb.
“We are calling for Government assistance. This could be in the form of reduced VAT, reduced business rates, a cap on commercial energy or even the Government taking things in-house and actually providing the energy itself.”
He added that Westmorland Hospitality would work tirelessly to meet the challenges ahead.
He said: “The traditional pub is where people used to go to keep warm during the winter. We shall do what we can and we are also asking the community for their support to help us to keep our doors open because without our loyal regulars it no longer becomes viable.”
Facilities at Ye Olde Fleece Inn include a fully waited-on restaurant, a gastropub and bar area seating 80 people, a lounge, meeting and conference facilities and a function room. Several community groups meet at the inn.
Chris said Ye Olde Fleece Inn will also look at how it could reduce its energy usage.
He said: “People say just close for the winter but this is long-term problem. In the kitchen we shall look at stopping some of the intense energy processes, such as using the salamander. We shall look at the energy which goes into cooking every dish, but this will only make a small difference.
“In the cellar we shall also look at how we cool our beer – but you have to keep beer cool. We’ll use our log fires much more, instead of the radiators, and we’ll keep candles burning.”
Cumbria Tourism said it will call on the new Prime Minister to take immediate action.
