Threat of last orders for Fylde pubs (From Blackpool Citizen)

Threat of last orders for Fylde pubs

4:05pm Thursday 31st July 2008

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Leading figures in the pub trade have predicted an uncertain future for licensees as last orders rang out for an iconic Blackpool pub.

The historic Uncle Tom’s Cabin, founded more than 150 years ago, closed its doors last week when owners Herald Inns and Bars went into administration.

To compound matters Liverpool brewery Cains, which run four pubs in the area, is facing closure over an unpaid tax bill.

Dave Daley is landlord of the Castle pub on Central Drive and Blackpool representative of the Association of Licensed House Managers.

He said: “Uncle Tom’s was as much Blackpool as sticks of rock and the Tower. I would describe the decimation of pubs as similar to the closure of post offices, they are the hubs of community life.

“In the last 18 months I estimate 20 pubs have gone under on the Fylde coast and I suspect that rather than the smoking ban and cheap supermarket booze, it’s through mismanagement of pub chains at a high level.

“There is a real cost in human terms as well, as the industry supports jobs both directly and through related services.”

A report released on Monday by the British Beer and Pub Association said beer sales in pubs have plunged 10.6 per cent in the last three months to the lowest level since the Depression of the 1930s. In pubs, bars and restaurants, the fall was 144 million pints over three months, that’s 1.6 million per day.

The closure of Uncle Tom’s, a favourite haunt of generations of visitors and locals alike, has left well-known Blackpool licensees Keith Slater and Barbara Savage devastated.

They had only returned to the resort a month ago to take over the pub. The couple previously ran the Pump and Truncheon on Bonny Street for seven years.

Mr Slater, 47, said: “We had no idea this was coming and were shocked and upset. We were asked to take a conference call and told the pub would shut immediately and administrators were literally outside.

“We decided to come back here because we thought a local couple could really get the pub going again.

“We were setting up a pool, darts and football team and having top artists three nights a week for the Illuminations season.

“We are so disappointed for the staff and the locals who have remained loyal to the pub.”

Mr Slater added that he believed that the pub, which employed ten full and part-time staff, would remain shut for the foreseeable future but hoped that at some time it could be reopened.

In addition to Uncle Tom’s, which underwent a major refurbishment in 2005, Herald Inns have transferred a further 15 pubs to administrators Ernst and Young.

Cains Brewery run the Last Orders pubs in Bond Street, Blackpool and Trunnah Road, Cleveleys as well as the Ardwick, Foxhall Road, and the Uncle Peter Websters on the Promenade, both Blackpool.

HM Revenue and Customs has filed a petition for the company to be wound up because of money it claims it owes.

Cains chief executive Sudarghara Dusanj said: “These past six months have been the worst in living memory for the brewery trade.

"The credit crunch and a tough period for the retail industry are causing everyone problems.”

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