Brewery hoping to reopen hostelries

TWO of Portishead’s most historic High Street pubs have closed in the last seven days.

The White Lion, once an old water mill, closed last Wednesday and is now boarded up and The Poacher – the town’s oldest pub – closed its doors on Sunday afternoon.

Both pubs are owned by the pub chain Enterprise Inns, which has pledged to reopen both hostelries in the next few weeks.

The Poacher, which is one of Portishead’s best known pubs, has been managed by the same family – the Hazeltons – for nearly 25 years.

Portishead town councillor Ron Hazelton and his wife Hilary were landlords for 20 years before passing on the reins to their son Mark and his wife Sue six years ago.

The Poacher was granted its first official licence in 1683 and was formerly known as The Blew Anchor.

In the 1700s it was used as a venue for Justice Court hearings from where the local magistrates dispensed penalties in the pond outside with the ducking stool and on the village green in the form of stocks and a whipping post.

It changed its name again to The Anchor in the 1870s and one of its rooms was occasionally used by a local preacher.

Mr Hazelton, a dad of two, said the high rents and a dip in trade due to the recession had forced him to call time.

Mr Hazelton, who has worked at The Poacher for 12 years and managed it for six, said: “Our rent for the pub is £60,000 a year so I have to make £3,000 a week just to cover the rent, bills and running costs.

“Because I am tied to the brewery the cost of my beer is also double what it would be if I were a free house.

“We have also seen a drop in trade of about 20 per cent over the last year and this, coupled with everything else, has meant running the pub is no longer viable for us.

“We have tried everything to make the pub work, including quiz nights, live music and trips out, but the trade is not here.

“I am very sad it has come to this as The Poacher has been in the hands of the Hazelton family since 1986.”

Mr Hazelton and his wife have held many fundraising events over the last several years, raising cash for Children’s Hospice South West.

The pair decided to help the charity because their 12-year-old daughter Georgia suffers with the condition bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia.

The family will be living at the pub for the next few weeks and trying to find a new buyer for the lease, which still has two years to run. If no buyer can be found, the pub will be repossessed by the brewery.

News that two of Portishead’s pubs have closed has been described as a “blow” by community leaders.

Portishead councillor David Pasley said: “What is a town like Portishead without decent pubs? Sadly, people don’t seem to go to the pub like they used to and this has had an impact on the success of many hostelries.

“I hope that new tenants can be found to take on these properties and that they are not left to deteriorate as both buildings are an important part of Portishead’s heritage. Portishead has changed greatly over the last few years and perhaps these pubs should take another look at the business to ensure they are meeting the needs of the community.”

Bosses at Enterprise Inns said they could not comment on the circumstances of the pub closures but were planning to reopen them both.

A spokesman for Enterprise Inns said: “We are aware of the landlord’s intention to close The Poacher and we will be looking to reopen it as soon as possible.

“We will be carrying out some necessary work to the White Lion over the next couple of weeks and plan to reopen.

“We plan to reopen under the management of a new licensee but cannot give a definite date.”