A pub has called for more support for businesses as it faces a yearly energy bill of more than £60,000.
The Rose and Crown near Mayor Park in Bebington is known for its local beers and has won a number of awards. It now faces a bill of £61,667 - with its energy provider quoting £6,215 a month. The pub said this deal was the best on offer.
Taking to Twitter, a spokesman said: “Just thought I might update you on the latest ‘best’ energy deal available for a pub of our size. We were paying 15p/unit in May. .” The unit rate on the offer through British Gas is 97.05p per unit.
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The pub has called on the Government to provide more support for businesses and hinted it may have to raise money to stay open over the winter saying: “We’re not raising money for the pub just yet.”
Councillor Jason Walsh, who represents Bebington, said: “Government intervention is needed. It is a really good small local business. How is anybody supposed to be able to absorb that cost? People just cannot afford it” Wirral Council met on August 31 to discuss how it can support businesses and residents over the coming months with the cost of living crisis. Businesses also pay local authorities business rates, some of which is kept by the council.
A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: “Council officers are currently assessing the pressures experienced by residents and businesses as a result of the current, and anticipated, cost of living crisis and the support they will need in the short and longer term.
The pub issued an appeal in 2021 after three people turned up to watch an England match after it struggled during lockdown. James Skinner, the manager of the pub, told the Echo in 2021: "We took over in 2018 and it is a great little pub - and profitable too, which is good considering it is not always a profitable industry.
"After we opening in March 2018, we reinvested all the money we made back into the pub and in January 2020 we had just started to make a very small profit - a buffer zone. We are usually booked up on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but it has been a struggle.”
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