Plea for help as Devon pubs face crisis

The government’s energy industry watchdog has been accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ as South Devon hospitality businesses face an existential crisis.

Two local Liberal Democrat MPs highlighted the plight of the local licensed trade during a House of Commons debate on alcohol duty.
Torbay MP Steve Darling told fellow MPs: “We need the government to wake up, smell the coffee and recognise the challenges that our hospitality industry faces.
“It is in crisis mode, so it is not prepared to invest or take a chance by improving its offer, and it is hunkering down and hoping for the best.
“Torbay’s tourism and hospitality industry has still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The outrageous second invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago caused a shock in our energy costs. I am afraid that there have also been self-inflicted wounds, such as the national insurance hike and the ensuing employment challenges.”
He said he had spoken to local hospitality businesses including Torquay’s Rock Garden, where a utility bill has risen to £3,000 a month, dwarfing rental costs.
“Ofgem is asleep at the wheel,” said Mr Darling. “It must back local businesses and drive the changes that we need.”
He called on the government to give the industry more protection and added: “I am afraid to say that many people in the hospitality industry scoff at proposals that simply deregulate around the edges, because if they do not have paying customers in their premises, they are set up to fail.”
National chains such as Wetherspoons were able to use their buying power to drive down the cost of a pint, he added, while independent pubs found it impossible to cover their costs at less than £6 a pint.
And with supermarket sales now accounting for more than 70 per cent of alcohol consumed, a national debate was required about driving more people towards the hospitality industry.
South Devon MP Caroline Voaden said that three ‘much-loved’ businesses – Wild Artichokes, the Old Warehouse and the Old Bakery – had closed in Kingsbridge last week alone.
“The owner of one of those venues told us that part of the problem was the accumulation of challenges faced by the hospitality industry,” she said. “Not just the lack of people coming through the door and spending money because of the cost of living crisis, but the rises in business rates and employer National Insurance contributions, which have made it impossible for businesses to continue.
“It is a tragedy that such venues are closing every day, and something must change before the hospitality industry is devastated.”