Village pub to shut after rescue bid fails

A 250-year-old village pub in Staffordshire is to close its doors for the second time in six months after a rescue bid failed.

The Swan with Two Necks in Longdon, near Rugeley, which first opened as an inn in 1755 was taken over last year by local businessman Neil Morten. But it is losing £2,000 a week, and he says he cannot afford to keep it open any longer.

The pub closed after a row last year between tied owners Punch Taverns and then licensee Anne Walters over the terms of the lease. Villagers, backed by Camra, launched a campaign to save the pub which remained shut for 50 days.

Mr Morten, who refurbishes pubs and clubs around the UK, blamed the high cost of buying beer and other drinks from Punch Taverns, combined with rent, rates, tax and staff which meant the pub was not sustainable as a business. He said: "We would have to sell 1,400 pints a week, with 180 covers in the restaurant just to break even. This is a great village, but there just aren't enough locals to support the village pub.

"The only way to survive is for someone with very deep pockets to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds on refurbishment to attract people from further afield.

"But then you run into opposition from locals who don't want to see the pub change.

"You can't please everyone, so the result is you end up running a very expensive community facility, rather than a viable business." Mr Morten said he thought he could make a go of the pub. "Even though it was losing money from the start, a village pub gets under your skin and becomes addictive.

"Like a gambler in a casino, you just keep throwing more money in, hoping to see a return, but it never happens. Eventually the well runs dry."

The pub tried everything from celebrity chefs, hog roasts, creative events for toddlers in the village, open mic nights and charity free beer nights to raise money for cancer charities and military charities.

"They all went well, and we had some good times, but even that wasn't enough to bring the money in we needed to keep going. In the end, the maths just doesn't work," he added.