4 days ago
'Trade is so bad': Pub could be closed within months
A VILLAGE pub could be closed within months, with the landlord saying "trade is so bad."
Matt Clarke, who runs the Fox & Hounds at Lulsley, has put the pub up for sale and applied for planning permission to convert it into housing.
If approved, the pub could be turned into six flats and three further homes could be built on the site.
Mr Clarke said the decision has caused "a rift" with villagers but that challenges facing the hospitality industry have hit the pub hard.
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"Unfortunately, the pub's really struggling so we're trying to sell and we've put in for planning permission as well," he said.
"It's caused a bit of a rift with the community but trade is so bad.
"The hospitality trade is on its knees, the staff costs have gone through the roof, minimum wage has gone up and utilities are really expensive so it's been hard."
Speaking to the Worcester News at the pub's dog show, he said the annual event would normally require more staff but that this year, they were down to just three.
"The dog show is a boost to keep us going a bit longer," he said. "There's just three of us working today, rather than seven years ago, we'd have five or six people."
The pub is being listed for sale by estate agents Sidney Phillips, with an asking price of £495,000 for the freehold.
According to the planning application, the pub went to auction on March 26 but did not sell.
It said the applicants had asked Sidney Phillips to continue listing the property while they continue alternative uses, such as the application to turn it into homes.
"Within the next two or three months, we'll probably be shut," Mr Clarke said. "It can't be helped. We're trying everything we can."
