Cost of living: Village pub to be sold after winter hibernation

The White Hart closed its doors to hibernate for the winter on 24 October

A village pub forced to shut for the winter due to the soaring price of energy bills, will now be sold after its owner said she had exhausted her personal savings.

The White Hart in Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire temporarily closed its doors in October.

Owner Stella Coulthurst said she had hoped to "sit it out" for the winter.

But the government's recent decision to scale back support for businesses means she will have to sell up, she said.

The government announced the changes after warning that the current level of help was too expensive.

Under the new scheme, firms will get a discount on wholesale prices rather than costs being capped as they are under the current one.

Heavy energy-using sectors, like glass, ceramics and steelmakers, will get a larger discount than others.

But firms will only benefit from the scheme when energy bills are high.

'Unrelenting'

Ms Coulthurst told the BBC she had no option now but to put the pub, which also has nine guest bedrooms, on the market.

"I get the government can't afford it [business support] but neither can I," she explained.

"My latest bill was £7,500, including one month where we were closed," Ms Coulthurst said, adding: "It's impossible for us.

"I've owned the White Hart for coming up to 12 years and this is unrelenting with Covid and this financial crisis."

The pub owner said the cost of food and issues sourcing and paying staff have also played a part in her decision.

"Everything is effected by big world macro events," she said. "War in Europe is making very big waves, rattling businesses in Hamstead Marshall."

Explaining that she had exhausted her personal savings, she added: "I don't know what's next for me."